Chapter 1: General Presentation of the Association of Local Democracy

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

FACOLTÀ DI LETTERE E FILOSOFIA

CORSO DI LAUREA SPECIALISTICA IN

COMUNICAZIONE NELL’IMPRESA E NELLE ORGANIZZAZIONI

INTERNAZIONALI

LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE

BALKANS: THE ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL

DEMOCRACY AGENCIES’ APPROACH

Prova finale di: Jessica Biondani Matr. 4130 Relatore: Prof. Paolo Panico

Correlatore: Prof.ssa Franca Poppi

Anno Accademico 2004-2005

Ai miei nonni

“ Sottofondo di pianoforte.

Mano docile e musica

dolce. Il pianoforte e sopra le note

a piccole cascate che scivolano

a valle e seguono l’inevitabile

reflusso del vissuto mortale”

Matteo Zattoni

Sono davvero tante le persone che vorrei ringraziare per aver persorso con me questo non sempre facile cammino…la mia famiglia, che si dimostra sempre la più fedele, Luca, ottimo compagno di viaggio nonché di vita, Giulia, Rani,

Jenny, Silvia, Giovanna e Sofia per la loro vicinanza, Elena, Ester e Lucia per aver allegerito il mio pendolarismo, Andrew per i consulti linguistici, Michele e

Giovanni per il supporto tecnico. Un pensiero particolare ai miei nonni, che non potranno assistere a questo tanto atteso traguardo ma che saranno sempre presenti.

Un grazie anche a tutti coloro che ho incontrato durante i miei viaggi e che hanno più o meno consapevolmente colorato la mia vita.

Fondamentali per la realizzazione di questo lavoro sono stati il Prof. Panico, la

Prof.ssa Poppi, il Prof. Baraldi, il Prof. Alessio Surian, lo staff di ALDA

Antonella Valmorbida, Martial Paris e Dorothee Fischer, i Delegati delle

Agenzie della Democrazia Locale Stève Duchene, Kerim Medjedovic, Miljenko

Turniški, Tullio Fernetich e Umberto Ademollo, e infine Giampaolo Cordiale e

François Friederich. A tutti loro va un grande grazie.

INTRODUZIONE - SVILUPPO ECONOMICO LOCALE NEI BALCANI: L’APPROCCIO DELL’ASSOCIAZIONE DELLE AGENZIE DELLA DEMOCRAZIA LOCALE……………………………………………………………..9

INTRODUCTION: THE BALKANS HISTORY AT A GLANCE...... 17

The Balkans history at a glance...... 17

A brief overview of the Balkans problems and perspectives ...... 21

1 THE ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL DEMOCRACY AGENCIES: AN OVERVIEW...... 25

1.1 Introduction: the Local Democracy Agencies and the Association of Local Democracy Agencies ...... 25 1.1.1 The Local Democracy Agencies: creation and general objectives...... 25 1.1.2 The Association of Local Democracy Agencies ...... 28

1.2 The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) Resolution 251 (1993) creating LDEs and CLRAE Resolution 73 (1998) on LDAs...... 31 1.2.1 CLRAE Resolution 251 (1993) establishing principles of the LDEs...... 31 1.2.1.1 The aims of the Local Democracy Embassies...... 32 1.2.1.2 The role of the LDEs ...... 33 1.2.1.3 The duties of the LDEs...... 33 1.2.1.4 The working structure...... 34 1.2.1.5 Partners and finance...... 36 1.2.1.6 Permanent presence and duties of the Delegate ...... 37 1.2.2 Resolution 73 (1998) creating LDAs ...... 38

1.3 The Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies...... 41 1.3.1 The preamble remembers the aims of the LDAs...... 41 1.3.2 Constitution and aims of the Association ...... 42 1.3.3 Administration and operation...... 45 1.3.3.1 The General Assembly...... 45 1.3.3.2 The Governing Board...... 47

1.3.3.3 The Bureau ...... 48 1.3.3.4 The LDA Delegates’ Advisory Committee and the Scientific Committee of the LDA Association...... 49 1.3.4 The resources of the Association ...... 50 1.3.5 The members of the Association...... 51 1.3.6 Partners ...... 53

2 ALDA AND LDAS’ PROGRAMMES ...... 55

2.1 The role of the Local Democracy Agencies and their Association in the stabilisation process in South and Eastern Europe ...... 55

2.2 Major programmes realized by the Association...... 57 2.2.1 The “EU Mayors” Programme – the ALDA-ANCI Partnership ...... 57 2.2.2 The “Norwegian Programme”- Promoting local economic development in Western Balkans: youth groups capacity building ...... 59 2.2.3 Italian and Balkans Municipal Partnership of ANCI...... 61

2.3 A brief presentation of the 11 LDAs forming the network and their activities in 2004………………………………………………………………………………………………………62 2 2.3.1 LDA Verteneglio, Croatia...... 64 2.3.2 LDA Sisak, Croatia ...... 65 2.3.3 LDA Osijek, Croatia ...... 67 2.3.4 LDA Subotica, Serbia and Montenegro...... 68 2.3.5 LDA Central and Southern Serbia (based in Niš)...... 70 2.3.6 LDA Nikšić, Montenegro...... 71 2.3.7 LDA Kosovo...... 73 2.3.8 LDA Ohrid, “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” ...... 74 2.3.9 LDA Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina...... 75 2.3.10 LDA Zavidovici, Bosnia and Herzegovina ...... 77 2.3.11 LDA Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina ...... 79

2.4 The Activity Report of the Association 2004...... 80

2.5 Programme of Activities 2005...... 83

3 LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE BALKANS...... 87

3.1 The pilot project “Local Economic Development in the Balkans” ...... 90 3.1.1 The research/action methodology ...... 94 3.1.2 Expected results ...... 96

3.2 The implementation of the programme ...... 97 3.2.1 The Seminar in Zavidovici, Bosnia and Herzegovina...... 99 3.2.2 The Seminar in Rozaje, Montenegro...... 102 3.2.3 The Seminar in Umag, Croatia...... 105 3.2.4 A first assessment of the project achievements in November 2004 ...... 109 3.2.4.1 LDA OSIJEK ...... 110 3.2.4.2 LDA NIKSIC ...... 114 3.2.4.3 LDA VERTENEGLIO/BRTONIGLA...... 119 3.2.5 The Seminar in Ohrid, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia...... 124

4 TRYING TO DRAW A CONCLUSION ...... 129

4.1 The current situation of Montenegro, Kosovo and Osijek regions ...... 129 4.1.1 The current situation of Montenegro ...... 130 4.1.2 The current situation of Kosovo...... 133 4.1.3 The current situation of Osijek, Croatia ...... 140

4.2 The “Local economic development in the Balkans” project and its local impact .. 147 4.2.1 The LDA of Montenegro ...... 147 4.2.2 The LDA of Kosovo ...... 150 4.2.3 The LDA of Osijek ...... 155 4.2.4 The LDA of Verteneglio/Brtonigla...... 156 4.2.5 The project according to Ms. Antonella Valmorbida, Director of ALDA ...... 158 4.2.6 Mr. Martial Paris, coordinator of the project ...... 161 4.2.7 Some other opinions of local economic development...... 164 4.2.7.1 Mr. François Friederich ...... 164 4.2.7.2 Mr. Giampaolo Cordiale ...... 165 4.2.8 Some guidelines for evaluation. Possibile improvements in ALDA’s methodology 167

ANNEXES…………….……………………………………………………………..179 MR. KERIM MEDJEDOVIC…………………………………………………………………………. 181 MR. STEVE DUCHENE………………………………………………………………………………193 MR. MILJENKO TURNISKI…………………………………………………………………………..216 LDA VERTENEGLIO………………………………………………………………………………….226 MR. FRANCOIS FRIEDERICH………………………………………………………………………230 MR. GIAMPAOLO CORDIALE……………………………………………………………………….248 MS. ANTONELLA VALMORBIDA…………………………………………………………………...255 MR. MARTIAL PARIS………………………………………………………………………………....262

PROPOSITION DE PROJET LDA MONTENEGRO...... 271

PROPOSITION DE PROJET LDA OSIJEK...... 278

PROPOSITION DE PROJET LDA VERTENEGLIO ...... 287

BUDGET OF THE PROJECT "LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE BALKANS"………………………………………………………………………….295

ALDA’S STATUTE ...... 300

REPORTAGE……………………………………………………………………….323

BALKANS' MAPS………………………………………………………………….345

BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 349

Introduzione

SVILUPPO ECONOMICO LOCALE NEI BALCANI: L’APPROCCIO DELL’ASSOCIAZIONE DELLE AGENZIE DELLA DEMOCRAZIA LOCALE

Molti analisti internazionali considerano i Balcani la polveriera d’Europa. Altri invece li definiscono un ponte, una via di comunicazione tra l’Europa centro- occidentale e quella orientale. Certo è che le recenti guerre degli anni ’90, che li hanno visti protagonisti della scena geo-politica mondiale, sono state il risultato di una storia molto complessa, profondamente segnata da quattro secoli di dominio ottomano e da quarantacinque anni di socialismo sotto la guida di Josip Broz, conosciuto con il nome di Tito. Probabilmente la guerra in Kosovo del 1999 è quella che meglio rappresenta l’eredità storica e culturale di questa regione e, al tempo stesso, le ambizioni politiche e territoriali dei leader delle popolazioni che vi risiedono. I Balcani sono caratterizzati da un mosaico di popoli che presentano origini etniche, usi e costumi, lingue e religioni differenti e che convivono in modo più o meno pacifico; proprio questa diversità è stata in parte la causa delle crudeli guerre che tutti ricordiamo e rappresenta, al tempo stesso, una speranza per una futura convivenza pacifica tra popoli e culture che si possono arricchire a vicenda. E’ evidente che l’Unione Europea, gli Stati Uniti e le Organizzazioni Internazionali hanno sottovalutato la forza della storia e dell’odio razziale, non riuscendo a gestire al meglio la situazione che si era venuta a creare nel decennio scorso. Dieci anni dopo gli Accordi di Dayton del 1995 e cinque anni dopo la caduta del regime di Milošević, i Balcani sono una regione relativamente stabile e non a rischio imminente di altri conflitti etnici, sebbene i tragici eventi del marzo 2004 in Kosovo

Introduzione abbiano dimostrato quanto sia ancora fragile l’equilibrio di quest’area. Al Summit di Thessaloniki nel giugno 2003, l’Unione Europea si è concretamente impegnata nei Balcani prevedendo l’adesione, a lungo termine, di questi paesi e contribuendo in maniera sostanziale al loro processo di transizione economica e di stabilizzazione democratica e politica, oltre che alla lotta contro il fiorente crimine organizzato. Nonostante il fondamentale impegno di UE, USA e Organizzazioni Internazionali di vario tipo, la parte più importante di questo processo di stabilizzazione e sviluppo deve essere realizzata dai popoli e dai paesi stessi. Coazia, Serbia e Montenegro, Bosnia ed Erzegovina ed ex-Repubblica Jugoslava di Macedonia sono oggi stati sovrani che presentano molte diversità ma anche molti tratti comuni. In ambito politico, questi paesi devono affrontare non solo una grande instabilità, il crimine organizzato e una corruzione molto diffusa a qualsiasi livello politico ed amministrativo ma anche sostanziali riforme legali e la costruzione di istituzioni praticamente inesistenti. Il momento forse più importante per garantire uno sviluppo in senso democratico è la definizione degli status e di alcune questioni costituzionali di questi fragili stati: il futuro del Kosovo non è ancora deciso fino a che non verrà definitivamente stabilito il suo status, il futuro della ex-Repubblica Jugoslava di Macedonia è incerto e quello di Serbia e Montenegro non sarà chiaro fino al 2006, quando questi due paesi potranno decidere, tramite referendum, se continuare a costituire un’Unione molto poco funzionale o diventare a tutti gli effetti due stati sovrani e indipendenti. L’Unione Europea sta studiando possibili soluzioni costituzionali per i Balcani poiché la questione non è più se questi entreranno a far parte, un giorno, dell’Unione stessa, ma piuttosto come ci si arriverà. Sicuramente, la prospettiva di entrare a far parte dell’UE, ed eventualmente della NATO, costituisce uno stimolo considerevole per queste nazioni, che però dovranno impegnarsi notevolmente nella costruzione di nuove istituzioni

Introduzione democratiche e nella riforma di quelle esistenti, e nello sviluppo di un funzionante e trasparente apparato amministrativo. Da un punto di vista economico, la regione presenta notevoli differenze di sviluppo da un paese all’altro, ma si possono comunque delineare alcune problematiche comuni. In primo luogo, il processo di privatizzazione spesso manca di trasparenza e non ha ancora prodotto un libero mercato forte e concorrenziale; di conseguenza gli investitori locali e stranieri che si arrischiano sono davvero pochi. In secondo luogo, il sistema bancario è poco sviluppato ed è ancora assente una “cultura del credito” tipica delle economie di mercato, le banche straniere sono poche e gli imprenditori locali non ottengono finanziamenti. Inoltre i mercati sono piccoli e non competitivi e le infrastrutture sono antiquate e non adeguate al nuovo sistema economico. Corruzione, crimine organizzato e sistemi fiscali e legali inadeguati ostacolano lo sviluppo economico di questi paesi. Un passo fondamentale per avviare questa tanto attesa espansione sarebbe quello di creare un’area economica comune tra questi stati, per favorire gli scambi e di conseguenza attirare gli investitori stranieri. Nonostante questi problemi, la prossimità e la prospettiva dell’Unione Europea, una manodopera istruita e relativamente poco costosa, e alcuni settori promettenti (come il turismo e la produzione di energia elettrica) costituiscono delle potenzialità importanti per la loro crescita. Naturalmente questi paesi dovranno fare molta attenzione agli attuali problemi sociali riguardanti disoccupazione, povertà, sistema scolastico e sanità, che potrebbero accentuarsi con uno sviluppo di tipo capitalistico delle loro economie. E’ evidente che uno sviluppo equilibrato non comporta solo un’espansione di tipo economico, ma contemporaneamente necessita di riforme democratiche e politiche e di una particolare attenzione verso le problematiche sociali. Ma il punto fondamentale in tutto questo processo è la consapevolezza delle popolazioni balcaniche che il raggiungimento di una crescita equilibrata dipende, in primo luogo, dalla loro

Introduzione volontà. Sono centinaia le Organizzazioni Non Governative che, dall’inizio degli anni ’90, si sono impegnate a scopi umanitari nei Balcani. Tra queste hanno rivestito un ruolo importante le Agenzie della Democrazia Locale (ADL)1, create ufficialmente nel 1993 dalla Risoluzione 251 del Congresso dei Poteri Locali e Regionali del Consiglio d’Europa. Queste Agenzie furono istituite perché i rappresentanti locali e regionali europei potessero offrire assistenza alle regioni devastate dalla guerra nell’ex- Jugoslavia. Il concetto di base sta nel fatto che tali organizzazioni operano solamente nelle aree decentrate, dove la presenza internazionale è molto limitata. La prima Agenzia ad essere inaugurata fu quella di Subotica, in Serbia, nel 1993, a cui sono si sono aggiunte negli anni le altre dieci Agenzie che oggi formano il network delle ADL. La loro funzione iniziale era quella di sostenere i cittadini colpiti dalla guerra con aiuti umanitari, ma quando la guerra finì esse cominciarono a contribuire alla ricostruzione delle infrastrutture e alla ricostituzione delle comunità locali favorendo il ritorno dei profughi e proponendo un percorso di sensibilizzazione verso i diritti umani, il rispetto reciproco e il dialogo tra le diverse comunità. Le Agenzie sono state riconosciute come attori fondamentali del processo di stabilizzazione della regione e collaborano regolarmente con il Consiglio d’Europa, l’Unione Europea, il Ministero degli Affari Esteri di Italia, Francia, Norvegia e con altre organizzazioni, e partecipano anche al Patto di Stabilità per il Sud-Est Europa. Ogni ADL è un’organizzazione indipendente inclusa in una rete regionale, alcune di esse sono ONG registrate a livello locale, altre a livello internazionale; sono strutture molto flessibili, e ciò permette di modellarne la struttura ed il network di partner in base alle esigenze locali. Nonostante le diversità che le caratterizzano, le ADL sono legate da una metodologia d’azione comune, che si basa sulla cooperazione multilaterale decentrata tra le autorità locali e i rappresentanti della società civile, che collaborano insieme alla stesura di progetti di sviluppo accordandosi sulla strategia e

1 In origine Ambasciate della Democrazia Locale.

Introduzione sulla modalità d’azione da attuare. Poiché il numero di ADL è cresciuto molto rapidamente nel corso degli anni ’90, nel 1999 fu istituita l’Associazione delle Agenzie della Democrazia Locale (AADL o ALDA), un’organizzazione ad ombrello con lo scopo di coordinare le attività delle ADL, contribuire alle azioni di fundraising, sviluppare progetti comuni e offrire assistenza amministrativa alle Agenzie in caso di bisogno, funzioni prima ricoperte dal comitato di pilotaggio del Consiglio d’Europa. Lo Statuto dell’ALDA prevede una stretta cooperazione tra il Consiglio d’Europa e l’Associazione: il Consiglio – ed in particolare il Congresso dei Poteri Locali e Regionali - si impegna a sostenere politicamente e da un punto di vista logistico l’ALDA, mentre le ADL e l’Associazione assicurano l’attuazione dei programmi del Consiglio nel Sud-Est Europa. L’Associazione è impegnata nei Balcani con progetti di vario tipo: protezione dei diritti umani, costruzione della democrazia - democracy building - e delle istituzioni, scambio di buone pratiche tramite gemellaggi tra autorità locali dei Balcani e dell’Europa Occidentale, sviluppo economico locale, dialogo interculturale tra comunità. Dal 2000 l’ALDA si è anche impegnata in numerose attività per estendere le sue basi geografiche e diffondere i suoi metodi già sperimentati in altre zone esterne al Sud-Est Europa; uno dei principali progetti è l’apertura di una nuova Agenzia della Democrazia Locale a Kutaisi, in Georgia. Per quanto riguarda l’aspetto finanziario, il finanziamento di queste attività proviene da fonti di vario tipo: il Consiglio d’Europa e il Congresso dei Poteri Locali e Regionali, la Commissione Europea, le Nazioni Unite (UN), l’Organizzazione per la Sicurezza e la Cooperazione in Europa (OSCE), città, regioni, province, fondazioni private (come LGI Budapest) e stati (quali Italia, Francia, Norvegia, Irlanda, Liechtenstein, Finlandia, Lussemburgo e Svizzera). Il network delle ADL è composto di più di 215 partner da 21 paesi europei: il 52% sono poteri locali, il 25% ONG, il 7% poteri regionali e il rimanente 16% partner di vario tipo. L’Associazione delle Agenzie della Democrazia Locale conta attualmente 107 membri provenienti da 15 paesi: il 58%

Introduzione sono poteri locali, il 16% ONG, il 20% individui singoli, e il 6% partner di altro tipo; il 39% di questi è anche partner delle Agenzie. Tra i tanti programmi che l’Associazione ha attuato dalla sua istituzione, uno di questi è di particolare attualità nei Balcani: “Local economic development in the Balkans2”, un progetto pilota finanziato dal Ministero degli Affari Esteri francese e realizzato grazie alla collaborazione del CFPPA di Caulnes - Francia - Centro di Formazione Professionale e di Promozione Agricola che si è occupato della formazione degli attori locali nei Balcani coinvolti nel progetto. Questo programma è nato in seguito a una brainstorming session tenutasi in Montenegro qualche anno fa, durante la quale le ADL, oltre ad essere formate da un punto di vista gestionale, avevano espresso le loro priorità: tra queste vi era lo sviluppo economico locale, tema indicato come una delle priorità dell’Associazione in occasione dell’Assemblea Generale a Subotica nel 2003. L’obiettivo generale del progetto è quello di elaborare e testare una strategia di sviluppo integrata e sostenibile in cui possano coesistere e integrarsi le risorse locali e gli interventi internazionali, al fine di rinforzare i meccanismi di crescita economica e sociale attraverso l’apertura ad esperienze di tipo internazionale, favorire la partecipazione dei cittadini nei processi decisionali riguardanti lo sviluppo economico della comunità e accrescere la conoscenza delle autorità e della società civile riguardo gli elementi prioritari di questo tipo di sviluppo. Gli obiettivi specifici erano la formazione di 22 animatori d’azioni di sviluppo locale, la creazione e il funzionamento di 11 gruppi di lavoro nelle regioni interessate, la definizione di 11 piani d’azione sullo sviluppo locale in ogni zona d’azione delle ADL, la sensibilizzazione delle autorità locali francesi e infine la realizzazione concreta dei piani d’azione. Il progetto, iniziato ufficialmente a Strasburgo - Francia - il 18 dicembre 2003, si è concluso nel gennaio 2005 passando attraverso 4 seminari di 3 giorni ciascuno (rispettivamente a Zavidovici-Bosnia, Rozaje - Montenegro, Umag - Croazia e Ohrid – ex-Repubblica Jugoslava di Macedonia) in cui gli animatori

2 Local economic development in the Balkans: sviluppo economico locale nei Balcani.

Introduzione territoriali si sono incontrati con i formatori del CFPPA di Caulnes e hanno preso parte a un corso di formazione. Questo lavoro si propone di analizzare in dettaglio tale programma di sviluppo economico locale, il primo dell’Associazione, cercando di capire l’utilità della metodologia utilizzata, considerandone pregi, difetti e possibili miglioramenti. A tal fine sono stati sottoposti dei questionari ad alcuni delegati delle Agenzie della Democrazia Locale e ad alcuni esperti esterni che conoscono abbastanza da vicino l’ALDA. Un questionario è stato sottoposto anche ad Antonella Valmorbida, direttrice dell’Associazione, e a Martial Paris, coordinatore del progetto. Ne sono risultate risposte abbastanza variegate, che mettono in risalto l’importanza della valutazione continua dei progetti e, al tempo stesso, quella di una comunicazione efficace tra l’Associazione e le Agenzie della Democrazia Locale, che rappresenta già una delle priorità del network, ma che può sempre essere migliorata.

Introduction

INTRODUCTION: THE BALKANS HISTORY AT A GLANCE

The Balkans history at a glance The Balkans are often regarded as the powder keg of Europe. The present situation and the most recent war in the region are the result of a very complex history, made up of four centuries of Ottoman rule and forty-five years of Socialism. The Balkans peoples represent for sure a European unit of civilisation even if they have very different cultures and customs compared with Western and Central Europe. In the same region, different ethnic groups, customs, languages and religions coexist in a more or less peaceful way; that is why they could also be seen as a bridge or a communication opportunity between the West and the East rather than a powder keg. The Balkan societies present many contradictions which have been shaped during the last centuries and that could be resumed in the word Kosovo. According to the popular etymology of this region, this word would come from two Turkish expressions meaning blood and honey; actually, the word means mountain, which is an emblematic characteristic of the Balkans, from a physical point of view as well as from a sociological point of view since it has always been and still is a safe hideout to escape the power in the reality and in the popular imagery. As mentioned above, the history of this region is very complicated and a brief overview is necessary in order to understand the characteristics and problems of today’s Balkan societies. The Ottoman Conquest began in 1371, when the Serbs were defeated during the Marica battle, and ended with the victory of the Kosovo Polje battle in 1389. The Empire was so vast and costly that it could not control directly all the Balkans, which were, for this reason, rather autonomous. In the Ottoman Empire, the concept of “nation” and “nationality” did not exist; the peoples were subdivided

Introduction

into autonomous religious communities, the millet, which acted like an intermediary between the Ottoman central power and the population. The millet organised the social and religious life of its population and collected taxes, in fact organised all the practical aspects of the daily life. The Empire did not oblige people to be converted to Islamism, even if it was fundamental to make a carrier in the Empire administration. In this context, religion was the first identity factor and today’s Balkan countries and identity wars directly come from the Ottoman heritage and conception of communities. This is a fundamental fact to remember in order to understand the problems that these countries are facing. The emergence of modern nationalisms in the 19th century and the constitution of Nation-States brought forth a simplification and homogenisation of Balkan cultures and languages. According to Jean-Arnault Dérens3, recent wars could represent the final stage of this process trying to define better national boundaries both from a geographical and cultural point of view. The Congress of Berlin (1878) determined a first evolution of the situation and modified the regional balance making a step towards the independence of Serbia. Despite the autonomy of Serbia and the independence of Greece in 1830, Albania and Macedonia remained under the Ottoman Empire until the Balkan wars in 1912-134. These wars represented a turning point in the history of the Balkans: Macedonia and Kosovo became part of Serbia and this independent state was characterized by a strong nationalist ideology. Moreover, other parts of Macedonia were conferred to Bulgaria and Greece; Bulgaria became independent, the Austro-Hungarian Empire annexed Bosnia- Herzegovina, and the Albanian State was founded. Despite nationalisms and cultural and religious differences, the Balkan States formed the “Balkan League”, aimed at defeating the Ottoman Empire. Greece, Serbia and Montenegro won the Balkan war; Bulgaria, on the contrary, lost it. The rise of nationalisms in these countries testified the decline of the Ottoman Empire, which definitively collapsed with the

3 For historical references, Jean-Arnault Dérens, Balkans: la crise, Editions Gallimard, 2000. 4 Croatia, Slovenia, Voivodina and Bosnia were under the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Introduction

First World War. This conflict actually determined the birth of Yugoslavia as Croatia, Slovenia, and later Montenegro also became part of Serbia (Kosovo and Macedonia were already part of it); the problem was that this new State was not the result of a voluntary and welcome union, but rather a forced unification determined by Serbian nationalist ambitions. The history between the First and the Second World War saw the birth and development of the Yugoslav Communist Party and a very complex part of the Balkans history. Supporter of the independence of the different Balkan countries in the 1920s and illegal, the Communist Party became the most important advocate of the union before and during the Second World War under the guide of its Secretary General, Josip Broz called Tito (since 1937). Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy redesigned completely the Balkans map at the beginning of the war, but their defeat allowed Tito to become the President of a national front made up of a coalition of Communists and Democrats controlled by the Communist Party. Great Britain supported this new State; on the contrary, Stalin did not agree because he represented for him a “mini-Soviet Union”. This disagreement between Stalin and Tito led to a historical breakdown in diplomatic relations between these two Socialist Countries in 1948 and, in 1955, Tito became the leader of the “Non- Aligned Countries”. The Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia was the most liberal between the Socialist Countries and developed a particular form of Socialism and economic policy: after a period of strict collectivization, in 1965 a first opening towards the free market economy took place. The most important thing concerned the population because Tito ended up the Serbian domination and put all the peoples forming the new country on the same level. But it was the Constitution of 1974 that transformed the country in a real confederation of States. Despite the political and economic difficulties, Tito succeeded in keeping different peoples together in a rather peaceful way until his death, on 4 May 1980.

Introduction

The end of the Socialist and Tito’s eras determined the beginning of a new phase of instability and wars in the region. The Confederation was dissolved, each country claimed new territories, and a new wave of nationalisms arose, first of all the Serbian one under the guide of Slobodan Milošević. The most recent history is very complex and everybody knows the events and wars of the last 15 years. In 1989, after the Kosovo Polje battle, Serbia abolished Kosovo autonomy and just after Slobodan Milošević became the President of the Serbian Republic. In 1991, Slovenia and Croatia became independent and Serbian autonomous regions were established in Croatia; this led to the beginning of the war between Croatians and Serbians. The following year, also Bosnia and Macedonia declared themselves independent: the first one provoked a war against Serbians and the second one, on the contrary, was rather peaceful and was recognised at the international level as FYROM (the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) in 1994, and in the same year the Croatian-Bosnian war ended and the Croatian-Bosnian Federation was established. In autumn 1995, the Dayton Agreements put an end to the war in Bosnia- Herzegovina and divided the territory into two parts: the Croatian-Bosnian Federation and the Serbian Republic of Bosnia. On 28 February 1998, after some years of troubles, the Serbians intervened against some clans in Kosovo and the war of Kosovo began. The Serbians did not accept to meet the Albanian delegation and did not sign the document proposed by the International Community and already signed by the Albanian delegation. On 24 March 1999, the NATO forces began to bomb Kosovo and on 9 June the Serbians did agree to sign the peace treaty. Bernard Kouchner was named as the administrator of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). This very brief and simplified summary of the recent history of the Balkans region is aimed at giving an idea of its complexity and, consequently, at letting people understand the reasons of the present difficulties in the reconciliation and

Introduction

development process. The majority of the claims and socio-political and economic problems of these peoples directly come from their recent history .

A brief overview of the Balkans problems and perspectives What is evident some years after the end of the Balkans wars is that the international community, the European Union, and the United States underestimated the powerful forces of history and ethnic hatred. Almost ten years after the Dayton Agreements and almost five years after the end of the Milošević regime, the Western Balkans are a relatively stable region and the danger of a conflict is no longer imminent; however, the stability of the region still is very fragile and this was demonstrated by the events in Kosovo in March 2004 and by the distrust and hopelessness of people. At the Thessaloniki Summit in June 2003, the European Union committed itself to integrating the countries of the region; additional efforts are required to solve outstanding issues and accelerate the transition process because the Balkans political instability, the prospect of never ending conflicts, the flourishing criminal networks and the constant flows of immigrants could lead to the erosion of EU’s credibility. The EU and the international community have a decisive role to play in constructing the future of this region, but the most important part of this process has to be done by the population, who have to construct their own future. The most important problems that these countries are facing concern the political sphere as well as the economic and social spheres. These three fields are interdependent because all are needed and they influence each other. These countries have to deal not only with political instability but also with corruption, organized crime, legal and regulatory reforms, and society and institution-building. The starting point for a well-balanced development is the urgent need to solve the

Introduction

outstanding status and constitutional issues: the future of Kosovo in undecided as long as the question of its status is not resolved, the future of Macedonia is uncertain and the one of Serbia and Montenegro is unclear as long as in 2006 these two countries will decide on their Union. The European Union is studying possible constitutional solutions for this mixture of weak states and international protectorates since today the question is no longer if the region will be enclosed in the EU, but rather how this should be done5. Moreover, it is necessary to develop functioning state administrations, to build new institutions, and to strengthen the existing ones. For sure, the prospect of becoming members of the EU and of the NATO is an incentive for these countries even if the problem of the status quo is somehow blocking their way towards the integration. From the economic point of view, a first fundamental step would be the creation of a common economic area6 attracting foreign investors; many people think that a regional approach is a necessary precondition for development because it would erase barriers, develop infrastructures and increase the demand and, therefore, would attract national and foreign investors. Despite national differences, the macro-economic problems are the same: the process of privatization has not yet produced a strong competitive, market-oriented private sector and lacks transparency; the banking system is weak and lacks technical expertise, a “credit culture” is absent and foreign banks and investors are very few. Moreover, markets are small and poor, infrastructure are often inadequate and production capacity is not competitive. Corruption and organized crime and the weak legal system together with tariffs and non-tariff barriers represent some important obstacles to economic development. However, their proximity to major markets, the prospect of integration within the EU, the relatively well-educated and inexpensive workforce, and the promising sectors (such as tourism and electricity production) are some of the strengths of the Balkans. In their development process, these countries should

5 International Commission on the Balkans, The Balkans in Europe’s future, April 2005. 6 Task Force Report, Promoting Sustainable Economies in the Balkans, 2000 by the Council of Foreign Relations.

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also pay attention to social problems such as unemployment and poverty, and should take particular care of the education and health sectors. Many international organisations and NGOs – such as the Association of Local Democracy Agencies - are working in the region to recover the economy of the Balkans countries, to build democracy and to restore order and respect between different ethnic groups and cultures. The Association of Local Democracy Agencies is an umbrella organisation founded in 1999 which brought together 11 Local Democracy Agencies (LDAs), NGOs playing an important role in the stabilisation and democratisation process of the area. The first chapter of this work explains in detail the creation, the general objectives and the structure of the Local Democracy Agencies and their Association through an attentive analysis of Resolutions 251 (1993) and 73 (1998) of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe creating LDEs and later LDAs and of the Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies. The second chapter summarizes the contribution of the LDAs and their Association to the stabilisation process in South Eastern Europe and resumes the major programmes realized by the Association and the activities of the LDAs forming the network. The third part of this work examines a specific project of the Association funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs called “Local Economic Development in the Balkans”, a programme aimed at fostering local economic initiatives in the areas where the LDAs are located. This section analyses the methodology and the implementation of the programme through its different stages and takes into consideration three LDAs in particular. The last chapter studies and evaluates the results of the survey conducted among the LDAs chosen for this work and tries to draw a conclusion about the effectiveness of this project at the local level and of the methodology of the

Introduction

Association of Local Democracy Agencies in a more general way. This part also gives some guidelines for evaluation stressing its importance and tries to think about some possible improvements that the Association could bring to its action methodology.

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1 THE ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL DEMOCRACY AGENCIES: AN OVERVIEW

1.1 Introduction: the Local Democracy Agencies and the Association of Local Democracy Agencies

1.1.1 The Local Democracy Agencies: creation and general objectives The Local Democracy Agencies (LDAs from here on) were founded to provide assistance to war-ravaged regions and municipalities in the former Yugoslavia under the wish of European local and regional authorities through partnerships with counterparts in Western Europe. The idea of the project was to create agencies only in decentralised areas of the region, where the presence of the international community and forces was and is usually lower. The first Local Democracy Embassy7 was founded by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe (CLRAE) of the Council of Europe in Subotica, Serbia and Montenegro, in 1993, followed by the creation of an LDA in Osijek, Croatia, and by other agencies in all the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

Initially, the LDAs supported citizens with local and humanitarian aid, which was a concrete and really important help for the population, severely affected by the wars. But as the war ended, LDAs’ focus shifted from crisis management to democratic

7 The “Local Democracy Embassies” were created in 1993, during the Standing Conference of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) of the Council of Europe and approved in its Resolution 251(199 3). On 28 May 1998, the Standing Committee of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe decided to change the name of the programme of “Local Democracy Embassies”, as adopted in 1993, to “Local Democracy Agencies” (see Resolution 73 (1998)).

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reform: they began contributing to the difficult task of re-building local communities, restoring respect for human rights and re-establishing understanding and good relations between different ethnic groups; the emphasis was put on tolerant and trust-based relationships between communities, which represented a great challenge. The LDAs also played and still play a significant role in the Stability Pact for South East-Europe and they are members of the Steering Committee on Local Democracy and Trans-border Co-operation8. They are considered as fundamental stakeholders in the stabilisation and democratisation process of the area and collaborate regularly with organisations as the Council of Europe, the European Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, France and Norway among many others at a local level, such as Municipalities, Regions and NGOs.

Each LDA is an independent organisation carrying out activities under the framework of a mandate assigned by the Association of Local Democracy Agencies (ALDA from here on) and their general objectives can be summarised as follows: • Promotion of local democracy mechanisms • Support for wide participatory decision-making processes • Respect for minorities and human rights • Rebuilding of local communities ravaged by the war.

LDAs have extensive autonomy to respond to local needs and support community- based institutions with training and other information services, promote intercultural dialogue, and foster the development of inclusive civil society. Other projects include economic revitalisation, refugees, education, the environment, youth/culture, and media, among others. Some are locally registered NGOs, some others internationally registered NGOs or de-centralised branches of Associations registered abroad. This decentralised

8 It is an intergovernmental body in charge of local democracy issues.

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structure gives the Association the needed flexibility to tailor the structure of each LDA and its network of partners according to local circumstances and needs. Further, ALDA’s network facilitates other organisations’ programmes by providing quick access to contacts for discussion and action. Despite their diversity due to the local needs, the LDAs are unified by a common methodology that focuses on multilateral decentralised co-operation between local authorities and representatives of civil society. One of the most efficient measures in this respect is town-twinning between Northern or Western European local authorities and their counterparts in the Balkans.

In order to understand the process of creation of LDAs in the Balkans and the evolution that the initial pilot programme has had until now , it is necessary to remind some important dates9: 1993: founding of LDA in Subotica (Serbia and Montenegro) and in Osijek (Croatia) 1994: founding of LDA in Maribor (Slovenia), closed in 1996 1995: founding of LDA in Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina), closed in 2003 1996: founding of LDA in Sisak (Croatia) and in Ohrid (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) 1997: founding of LDA in Zavidovici (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and in Verteneglio (Croatia) 1999: founding of the Association of LDAs 2000: founding of LDA in Prijedor (Bosnia and Herzegovina) 2001: founding of LDA in Central and Southern Serbia (Kragujevac, Kraljevo and Niš) and in Niksic, Montenegro 2003: founding of LDA in Gjilan, Kosovo (Serbia and Montenegro) and 10th anniversary celebrations of the work of Local Democracy Agencies

9 “Building democracy from below: the work of the Local Democracy Agencies and their Association”, May 2004, Association of Local Democracy Agencies.

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2004: founding of LDA in Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

1.1.2 The Association of Local Democracy Agencies In the decade since their founding, LDAs projects, which initially formed a small pilot programme, have grown and have become some of the most important local actors in promoting a stable, democratic South Eastern Europe. As the number of LDAs and the scale of their activities increased over the years, the Association of Local Democracy Agencies was founded in 1999 by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe10 (CLRAE from here on) as an umbrella

10 The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe of the Council of Europe was established in 1994 as a consultative body to replace the former Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europ e. It represents European regions and municipalities in the Council of Europe and provides a forum where local and regional elected representatives can discuss common problems, pool their experience and express their views to governments. Furthermore, co-operates closely with national and international organisations representing local and regional governments and helps new member states with the practical

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organisation co-ordinating the network of the LDAs. This was an important step because it brought significant benefits for the LDAs by coordinating their activities, contributing to fundraising, developing common projects and giving administrative and personal assistance when and where needed, activities representing the most relevant part of ALDA’s present work. Besides, the Association trains staff, maintains an information and publication centre and represents members in dealing with international institutions and sponsors, especially the Council of Europe.

ALDA operates in close co-operation with the Council of Europe (and in particular with the CLRAE) but also with the European Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, France, Norway, Finland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Ireland, and Switzerland. In particular, through a formal working agreement with the Council, LDAs share their expertise in implementing programmes, gathering and disseminating information locally, and organising site visits. ALDA’s Statute11 established that ALDA and the LDAs are supposed to help the Council of Europe in implementing its programmes in South Eastern Europe and to support its politics; in return, the Council provides them with political, financial and logistical support. Other international organisations ALDA works closely with include the National Association of Local Authorities in South Eastern Europe (NALAs), the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the United Nations - particularly the High Commissioner for Refugees.

Despite its high level of international involvement, ALDA remains committed to its original mandate to focus on supporting democracy at a local level. As the network co-ordinator, ALDA facilitates collaborations among 11 Local Democracy Agencies and over 100 members and 200 partners, towns, regions and NGOs across the

aspects of their progress towards establishing effective local and regional self-governments. It works on the basis of Statutory Resolution (2000) 1 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. 11 The word “Statute” is not used here in its British legal meaning, but it refers to the statutory documents of incorporation of the Association.

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whole of Europe. Since 2000, ALDA has undertaken numerous activities to extend its geographical network and basis to bring its proven method of town-twinning to areas outside South Eastern Europe, such as Georgia.

As its programmes continue to find success in the Balkans, ALDA looks to draw on its accumulated expertise in playing an important advisory role to the EU enlargement process. While its experience in the former Yugoslavia makes it an ideal partner for enlargement activities in South East Europe, ALDA’s expertise is needed by other regions as well. To meet that need, ALDA has begun its preparation to open a new Local Democracy Agency in Kutaisi, Georgia, in summer 2005 and to implement a pilot project in Belarus. Indeed, the future strategy of ALDA is to support the stabilisation and accession process all over Europe. In the meantime, ALDA recognizes the important effects that neighbouring countries’ accession to the EU will have on the whole of South East Europe and looks forward to partnering with organisations across the continent to ensure a smooth, stable transition that benefits all countries in the region. Having already joined the Council of Europe, the Balkan states are expected to join the EU themselves in coming years, and ALDA will be there to support them. As the Balkans become increasingly involved in continent-wide networks, ALDA is growing to promote tolerant and effective local governance across Europe.

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1.2 The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) Resolution 251 (1993) creating LDEs and CLRAE Resolution 73 (1998) on LDAs

1.2.1 CLRAE Resolution 251 (1993) establishing principles of the LDEs In 1993, the Standing Conference of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) of the Council of Europe launched the pilot project of “Local Democracy Embassies” in order to provide humanitarian assistance to the war-ravaged regions and municipalities in the former Yugoslavia. During the same year, two embassies were created: the first one in Subotica, Serbia and Montenegro, and the second one in Osijek, Croatia. This programme was accomplished thanks to the fundamental support of the Council of Europe, of the member states of the Council and of the European Commission and Parliament. The first objective of the programme was to give the Balkans a concrete support to face the consequences of the war. Several partnerships were established between the local authorities in the region and Western Europe local authorities, in order to encourage the maintenance and/or development of the democratic process at a local level, taking into due account the material and institutional differences between one part of the European territory and another. Rapidly an important decentralised co-operation was established. In the years that followed, other Local Democracy Embassies were created on the same principles.

The concept of "Local Democracy Agency" was introduced (in collaboration with Médecins sans Frontières and Amnesty International of Belgium) and proposed by Causes Communes Belgique, supported by Causes Communes Suisse, discussed with the

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Helsinki Citizens Assembly, incorporated into CLRAE Resolution 251 (1993)12, and later developed and clarified by the Monitoring Committee set up under CLRAE auspices. The concept was further developed in Resolutions 25 (1995), 39 (1996) and 56 (1997) and Recommendations 15 (1995), 24 (1996) and 33 (1997) of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE).

In the Resolution 251 (1993) the Standing Committee of the CLRAE established the principles of the Local Democracy Agencies.

1.2.1.1 The aims of the Local Democracy Embassies According to the contents of the Resolution 251, the general aims of the Agencies are:

- to contribute to the improvement of life conditions ;

- to foster peaceful co-existence and the development of civil society through mutual acquaintance and understanding, developed by means of exchanges and inter-municipal co-operation;

- to strengthen the democratic process where it exists and to put in hand confidence-building measures (in accordance with the scheme devised by the Council of Europe) through intercultural activities, human rights and peace education;

- to combat racism, intolerance and xenophobia by implementing non- violent solutions;

- to commit itself to a pluralistic society and to protect multicultural and multi-religious society;

12 To consult Resolutions concerning the institution of LDAs and ALDA, visit the website of the Association www.ldaaonline.org, section Institutional Information ALDA - Resolution of Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

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- to encourage the development of unbiased and pluralistic information;

- to encourage micro-economic projects, development and reconstruction aid;

- in general, to promote dialogue and mediation.

1.2.1.2 The role of the LDEs The role established in the Resolution 251 (1993) was later confirmed in the Resolution 56 (1997):

The role of local democracy Agencies is to promote respect for human rights in general and to help implement and consolidate the democratic process in all sectors of local life. Particular attention will be given to:

- promotion of human rights and minority rights - the functioning of local democracy - socio-cultural exchanges - economic exchanges.

1.2.1.3 The duties of the LDEs As well as for the general aims and the LDEs role, the duties established in the Resolution 251 (1993) by the CLRAE were confirmed later in the Resolution 56 (1997):

- to serve as a temporary logistic base for humanitarian aid missions

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conducted by the founder municipalities of the local democracy Agency;

- to facilitate mutual communication between the participating towns and their neighbouring regions;

- to compile a record of local and regional, cultural and economic resources and transmit this information to the network of European municipalities and regions as a means of forging micro-economic and intercultural links;

- to support actively various local and regional activities in line with the objectives of the permanent mission. Active support may consist in:

· helping with practical organization, · organizing participation in an activity of the municipalities and regions, · contribution to additional fundraising for activities;

- to establish constructive contacts - in a spirit consistent with the aims of the local democracy Agency - with local political parties, local NGOs, religious communities, youth organizations and the independent media.

- to draft proposals giving more impetus to the action of the local democracy Agency's partners.

1.2.1.4 The working structure The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe also created the Committee on LDAs and the Assembly of the Local Democracy Agencies, whose respective functions were to give practical expression to the concept of LDEs and to bring together the LDEs, the Committee on LDAs, the representatives of local and regional authorities, institutions, and NGOs. In particular:

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The Committee on LDAs should: - define the conditions for the application of the concept - take decisions concerning the award of the designation of Local Democracy Agency and give advice about the choice of new Delegates - co-ordinate the actions of European local and regional authorities for the development of civil society and local democracy in any other appropriate manner;

The Standing Committee of the Congress of 18 November 1996 established its primary tasks:

- ensure more efficient co-ordination of the programme - ensure that the Congress can effectively exercise its political responsibility for the project - clarify the role and commitments of the partner towns and NGOs while preserving the Delegates’ capacity for flexible and independent action - assure the Delegates of the Council of Europe’s support, setting clearer limits on their responsibilities - set up a network of LDAs which will be able firstly to meet the expectations of local partners and secondly to serve as a link in carrying out some activities initiated by the international community, particularly the European institutions.

The Assembly of Local Democracy Agencies The Assembly of Local Democracy Agencies will bring together the members of the Committee on LDAs, representatives of the towns, regions or NGO which are project leaders, LDA delegates and the host local and regional authorities. It shall act as a consultative body and shall decide on the general directions of the programme. It shall meet on the convocation of the Committee on LDAs whenever necessary and at any event at least once a year. It shall also meet

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whenever more than half the number of LDAs so request, any such request being accompanied by a proposed agenda.

1.2.1.5 Partners and finance13 The CLRAE Resolution established that a Local Democracy Agency will be composed of:

A host municipality, town or region which agrees with the general principles of the LDAs programme and whose democratic process needs to be preserved or encouraged (this hosting party will be identified and chosen by at least three municipalities, town or regional authorities from three different European States and the reasons for choosing this particular town, municipality or region will be relevant); At least three municipalities, towns or groups of municipalities or regions from different Council of Europe member States agreeing with the general principal of the LDAs programme and willing to join forces and to make a substantial contribution to the financing of the LDAs ; The partners institutions, such as the Council of Europe, the European Union and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; If possible, NGOs or other associative organisations.

One of the partners (a town, a region or an NGO) shall be appointed by all other partners as the project leader (normally, it is a local authority or a local association working with local authorities).

Concerning the funding of the LDAs programme, it should be provided by the partners institutions, by the hosting regions, towns or municipalities (especially the

13 See CLRAE Resolution 73 (1998), in the website of the Association www.ldaaonline.org, section Institutional Information ALDA - Resolution of Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

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basic infrastructures such as office and accommodation), or by other international organisations and partners NGOs.

1.2.1.6 Permanent presence and duties of the Delegate14 In order to guarantee a permanent presence and a serious engagement in the town or local community hosting the Local Democracy Agency, the project leader suggests a Delegate, who will be chosen by a committee formed up by partner towns and municipalities after consultation of the Committee on Local Democracy Agencies and partners NGOs.

The CLRAE Resolution is very clear about the duties that the chosen Delegate must accomplish during his/her mandate. The Delegate is the most important figure of the LDA, responsible for running its activities and for managing information circulating from the hosting party to the partner organizations and municipalities and to the neighbouring region. His/her main function is to lead the programme of action of the Local Democracy Agency and a contract with the project leader will define his/her rights and obligations, status and remuneration. He has many important tasks to fulfil during his mandate.

The Delegate is supposed to: keep the partners always informed about the activities of the Agency and to work in close co-operation with them; ensure that the LDA is open daily to the public; endeavour to obtain a legal status or official recognition from the national authorities, so that the LDA may participate fully in the development of civil

14 See CLRAE Resolution 73 (1998), in the website of the Association www.ldaaonline.org, section Institutional Information ALDA - Resolution of Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

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society and become an integral part of the voluntary sector in the host country (with the support of the Council of Europe); organise and assist official visits of various delegations such as the regional representatives, mayors, partners, Council of Europe, European Union, NGOs and others; organise inter-municipal exchanges between local authorities and local representatives, local citizens associations, schools, local democracy know- how, local authorities and partners from abroad; enlist the services offered by the partners and make them public in order to provide training in local democracy practices, economic exchanges and cultural exchanges.

The Delegate is also responsible for the transparency and correct financial and administrative management of the Agency.

To fulfil all these functions and to undertake the co-ordination of the assignments, the Delegate must be qualified, have a good knowledge of the hosting party mechanisms and should also have a human touch, which is a very important quality in a difficult situation.

1.2.2 Resolution 73 (1998) creating LDAs15 On 28 May 1998, the CLRAE Standing Committee decided that the "Local Democracy Embassies" should be renamed "Local Democracy Agencies" :

“ The Congress:

15 Debated and adopted by the Standing Committee on 28 May 1998 (see Document CG (5) 14), Draft Resolution presented by Mr Claude Casagrande, Rapporteur. For the complete version of the Resolution consult the website of the Association www.ldaaonline.org, section Institutional Information ALDA - Resolution of Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

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invites the Committee on Local Democracy Agencies to implement this decision and to make sure that, within a reasonable time-limit, all “local democracy embassies” adopt the new name of “local democracy agencies”, or, should such re-naming pose problems, any other appropriate name, subject to the prior approval of the Committee on Local Democracy Agencies;

invites local and regional authorities of Europe to reaffirm or step up their political and financial support for the activities carried out by Local Democracy Agencies, either by becoming a partner of a Local Democracy Agency or by making a financial contribution to the Special Account for Local Democracy Agencies administered by the Committee on Local Democracy Agencies;

invites jointly the Council of Europe and the European Union to contribute more substantially to the Local Democracy Agency programme in order to cover the structural costs;

approves, pending the reply of the Committee of Ministers to Recommendation 33 (1997), the revised version of the appendix to Resolution 56 (1997) as given in the appendix to this resolution, including the rules according to which the LDAs will operate until a Foundation has been set up in accordance with the wishes of the Congress, as expressed in Resolution 56 (1997).”

As the number of LDAs and the importance of their activities in the years following the wars increased rapidly, the Council of Europe stated that an independent new structure was needed to manage the network of LDAs. In December 1999, it gave the permission for the creation of an Association of Local Democracy Agencies governed by French law, and specifically by the Alsace-Moselle law16. Before 1999, the LDAs were under the direct control of the Council of Europe, through the

16 Alsatian Associations are governed by the code of the Institut de Droit Local Alsacien-Mosellan and not by the “Loi des Associations 1901” as all other Associations in France. As long as ALDA was created in Strasbourg and its legal office is based at the Maison des Associations (1, rue des Orphelins) in Strasbourg, the Association is under the Alsacian law.

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action of the Committee on LDAs and the Assembly of Local Democracy Agencies; afterwards, the LDAs were, and are, coordinated by the Association of Local Democracy Agencies, which acts as an intermediary between the Agencies and the Council of Europe.

The LDAs have different legal status according to local and national legislative evolutions and to the relationship with major partners of the Agencies: • Local NGOs: Osijek, Subotica, Central and Southern Serbia, Mostar and Montenegro; • Local Office of foreign NGOs: Prijedor, Zavidovici and Kosovo; • International NGOs (becoming local NGOs): Sisak and Verteneglio; • NGO particularly connected with the Council of Europe: Ohrid.

Resolution 73 (1998) creating LDAs did not change the legal nature of the Agencies but simply changed their name. Since the approval of this Resolution, each Agency has kept its Statute, established at the time of its creation, in accordance with local law.

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1.3 The Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies17

1.3.1 The preamble remembers the aims of the LDAs The Statute of the ALDA was signed in Strasbourg on 14 December 1999 and revised twice during the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies on 5 December 2001 and on 17 June 2005. The preamble of the Statute remembers that the aims of the LDAs programmes are to promote civil society and local democracy in the wide sense of the term by setting up a permanent presence in the host towns and regions. The general role of LDAs is to promote respect for human rights and help to foster the democratic process at the local level in all sectors:

- contribute to developing civil society for a peaceful coexistence, foster mutual acquaintance and understanding and improve life conditions ;

- promote the democratic transition and the European integration of local and regional authorities, in particular those in Central and Eastern Europe, through exchange of experience and know-how and co-operation between partner local and regional authorities ;

- strengthen the democratic process, in line with the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, and to put in hand confidence-building measures (in accordance with the scheme devised by the Council of Europe) through intercultural activities, human rights and peace education ;

- combat racism, intolerance and xenophobia by implementing non-violent solutions;

17 To consult the Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies, see the Annexes, pages 299 to 322.

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- actively promote a pluralist society and protect multicultural and multireligious societies;

- encourage the development of unbiased and pluralist information;

- encourage local development projects and, if case arises, reconstruction of local infrastructures ;

- in general, promote dialogue and mediation.

The preamble also remembers the tight relationship between LDAs and the Council of Europe.

1.3.2 Constitution and aims of the Association18 In order to co-ordinate the activities and the wide network of LDAs, a non-profit association was set up under the name of “Association of Local Democracy Agencies”, an international non-governmental organization with no profit-making, political or religious purpose. The Association, with its headquarters in Strasbourg, is governed by Articles 21 to 79 of the local Civil Code for Alsace and Moselle and by its Statute and is registered in the Register of Associations of the Strasbourg District Court. The general aim of the Association is to encourage international partnership, to manage the relations between LDAs and international organizations such as the Council of Europe, and at the same time to further the goals of the LDAs. In particular:

- manage relations between the LDAs, their partners (municipalities, regions or

18 See Articles 1to 5 of the Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies.

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NGOs, including the host town or region) and the Council of Europe, in particular the CLRAE, ensuring their consistency as part of an overall project ;

- establish priorities for the preservation of existing LDAs and the creation of new ones;

- to favour partnerships between local and regional authorities in greater Europe ;

- build up a network of LDAs capable of meeting the requirements of local partners and acting as a relay for a number of the international community’s activities, in particular those of the European institutions ;

- manage the LDA network so as to promote local democracy, involving the organs of the Council of Europe (the Secretary General, the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly, the CLRAE, etc.) and the European Union (the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions) in the decision-making bodies and fostering co-operation between the Local Democracy Agencies ;

- serve as an interface between the LDAs and the relevant departments of the Council of Europe, including with a view to facilitating the access to Council of Europe and European Union co-operation programmes ;

- train the Delegates and the senior local staff in management and local project leadership techniques ;

- monitor the work done by the Delegates and the LDA staff, including financial management ;

- promote contact, co-ordination and the dissemination of information between LDA partners, foundations, public and private bodies (national or

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international), appropriate governmental and non-governmental organisations and the LDAs ;

- promote LDA activities in order to develop a new form of decentralised, international co-operation based on inter-municipal, interregional and intercommunity relations in Europe.

According to the Statute, the Association shall also: • award or withdraw the designation “Local Democracy Agency” in accordance with the principles established by the Governing Board and subject to the Board’s prior approval; • draw up bilateral agreements with each Local Democracy Agency, taking account of local realities and partnership arrangements in laying down both parties’ rights and obligations; • coordinate LDAs activities and new projects; • contribute to the fundraising and development of common projects; • provide LDAs and their Delegates with technical and administrative support and assist them with developing, managing and following up their activities; • receive voluntary contributions from national, local and regional authorities, foundations, international organizations and other bodies with the aim of developing general or specific LDAs projects; manage these funds and help to raise them; • act as LDAs representative in dealing with institutions, members, partners and sponsors and develop relations with the Council of Europe, the European Union, non-governmental organizations and local authorities; • Provide assistance to partners who wish to participate in the LDAs programme;

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• Provide a forum for discussing the LDAs programme and strategy; • Launch information and awareness-raising campaigns especially at the local level in order to inform about the activities of the LDAs and of the Association; • Organize events, such as training courses for Delegates, agency staff and other groups, and the annual Ordinary General Assembly of the Association.

1.3.3 Administration and operation19 The organs of the Association are the General Assembly, the Governing Board and the Bureau.

1.3.3.1 The General Assembly20 The General Assembly is the LDA Assembly, composed of all members of the Association and in which the Delegates participate in an advisory capacity. According to the provisions governing all the General Assemblies, members shall receive notice of the sessions as well as the agenda by personal letter at least fifteen days before the Assembly. Meetings of the General Assembly shall be chaired by one of the members present, appointed by simple majority. The Bureau of the Assembly shall be that of the Association. All decisions shall be reached by a majority of the members present or represented and registered in a register of the minutes signed by the President (or substitute) and by the Secretary of the meeting. Voting shall be by show of hands unless at least one quarter of the members present request a secret ballot. Public or private legal entities have 2 votes each and individual members 1 vote each. Only members present may cast votes and proxy votes shall be limited to two per member

19 See PART III – Administration and Operation of the Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies. 20 See articles 12-14 of the Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies.

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present21. The Governing Board may also authorize a postal vote on items on the agenda of any General Assembly.

The are two kinds of General Assembly: Ordinary General Assembly22: ordinary sessions shall be convened by the President once a year and whenever required by the needs of the Association. The Ordinary General Assembly sets the outline of the Association’s activities, a guideline to develop them, and has a monitoring function on the conduct of those activities. It also approves the annual management report, the Governing Board’s report, and the accounts for the previous financial year. Moreover, the Ordinary General Assembly adopts and amends the rules of the procedure, adopts the budget for the following financial year, fixes membership and entrance fees, orders eventual expulsions of active members, and elects members of the Governing Board, trying to ensure the representation of towns and regions hosting LDAs among the Assembly representatives sitting on the Governing Board.

Extraordinary General Assembly23: extraordinary sessions shall be convened by the President on request of the Governing Board, the Bureau or at least one third of the members within a period of two months after the demand was made. It must comprise at least half of the members plus one; in the absence of the quorum, the extraordinary session shall be reconvened two weeks later and at that stage the Assembly may pass valid resolutions even without a quorum. The most important functions of this kind of Assembly are to adopt amendments of the Statute and to decide about the dissolution of the Association; both decisions require a two-thirds majority of the votes according to their important consequences.

21 For specific information about proxy votes, see Article 12 of the Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies. 22 See Article 13 of the Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies. 23 See Article 14 of the Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies.

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1.3.3.2 The Governing Board24 The Governing Board, also called the LDA Board, is a fundamental organ of the Association as it is responsible for its management and administration. Its main tasks shall be to: • Ensure the good functioning of LDAs; • Set requirements for awarding the designation “Local Democracy Agency” and approve the appointment of the Delegate nominated by an LDA’s partners while making sure that he or she meets the Association’s criteria; • Assure the Delegates of the Association’s and members’ support; • Ensure the definition of the role and obligations of the partner towns and NGOs and the responsibilities of the Delegates while preserving his/her flexibility and independence in preparing bilateral conventions; • Co-ordinate action by European local and regional authorities for the development of civil society and local democracy; • Improve co-ordination of the programme. Moreover, it decides the hire or dismissal of Association staff, adopts the draft budget and agenda of the General Assembly, and is entitled to delegate its powers to the Bureau or the President.

The Governing Board is composed of 11 to 17 members25 who have the right to vote. The are some institutional and fixed members: ¾ One appointed by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; ¾ One appointed by the Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe;

24 See Article 15, points a-b, of the Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies. 25 The posts of member of the Governing Board and member of the Bureau are not remunerated, as est ablished by the Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies, Article 19.

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¾ One appointed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (subject to confirmation); ¾ the Chair of the LDA Delegates’ Advisory Committee; ¾ The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe of the Council of Europe; ¾ Three members of the Congress appointed by the its Bureau, among which at least one representative from one of the countries hosting Local Democracy Agencies. The other 3 to 9 active members representing partner municipalities and regions are elected by the General Assembly for a period of 4 years and may be re-elected.

Meetings of the Governing Board shall be convened at least once a year and whenever necessary by the President or at the request of a majority of its members. Decisions are taken by a simple majority and registered.

1.3.3.3 The Bureau26 This organ is elected by the Governing Board from among its members and comprises: ¾ The President of the Association; ¾ The 1st and 2nd Vice-President of the Association (determined by their seniority in that office of by age); ¾ The Treasurer of the Association; ¾ The Secretary of the Association; ¾ One member appointed by the CLRAE; ¾ One member appointed by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.

26 See Article 15, point c, of the Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies in the Annexes, pages 299 to 322.

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In particular: The President: pursues the aims and objectives of the Association, chairs the meetings of the General Assembly, the Governing Board and the Bureau and represents the Association in legal proceedings and in all official business. The Treasurer: has particular responsibility for overseeing the financial and budgetary affairs and accounts of the Association, prepares the annual financial report for submission to the General Assembly, and helps to raise funds. The Secretary: helps the Director, ensures the secretariat of the meetings and keeps the registers of the Association. The Director27 of the Association is responsible for the managing of the Association’s activities and is elected by the Governing Board. This post is incompatible with that of member of the Association. The Governing Board can dismiss the Director for serious misconduct or absence of personal and professional requirements. The Bureau, the President and the Director are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Association.

1.3.3.4 The LDA Delegates’ Advisory Committee and the Scientific Committee of the LDA Association

The LDA Delegates’ Advisory Committee is set up within the Association and is composed by all the LDA Delegates and elects a Chair, who is a full member on the Governing Board with an advisory function. The latter shall consult the Advisory Committee on all questions concerning the day-to-day management of the LDAs and the implementation of the Association’s activities.

The Scientific Committee of the LDA Association is set up by the Association

27 See Article 19 of the Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies.

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and approved by the Governing Board. This special organ can be consulted on the general guidelines of the Association or the individual LDAs in order to contribute efficiently to the reflection within the Association. The Chairperson of the Scientific Committee attends as observer with the right to speak but not to vote.

1.3.4 The resources of the Association28 The financing of the LDAs and ALDA’s activities is a complex question. The core funding for the Agencies and the Association (including the basic running costs and the salaries of the core staff) comes from the partnerships supporting them and in particular from the Council of Europe, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, the European Commission, the United Nations, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Another important financial support are contributions coming from some individual member States, such as Italy, France, Norway, Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. Some other individual Local Authorities and Regions also contribute to specific programmes.

The Council of Europe support has always been a basic help for the organization of LDAs activities and for the functioning of the Association, not only from the financial point of view, but also from the political and practical points of view. Effectively, the political support given by the Directorates General of Political Affaires and Human Rights, experts and members of the CLRAE and Regional Authorities of Europe and the practical support for the organization of institutional meetings and secretariat assistance represented and still represent key-features of the LDAs network. Moreover, the network can count on the council of Europe Offices and Information Centres in the countries concerned.

28 See Article 20, PART IV of the Statute of the Association lf Local Democracy Agencies.

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The most important Association’s resources are :

o Membership fees o Funding contributed by various partners for specific projects o Contributions from national or international public institutions supporting the Association o Voluntary contributions, donations and legacies o Any other lawful resources that can be mustered.

The are two ways to take part in the LDAs programme: becoming a MEMBER of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies (contributing with an annual fee fixed by the Association and supporting all activities of the Association) and/or becoming a PARTNER to support an individual LDA. In this case, the financial contribution is not the same for all Agencies but changes depending on local needs and on the resources and partnership network of the Agency.

1.3.5 The members of the Association29 The Statute establishes three categories of members:

a) Honorary members: figures invited by the Governing Board to support the Association’s initiatives; b) Active members: public or private entities or persons (representatives of local authorities, regional or national associations, NGOs, which are partners of

29 See PART II of the Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies.

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an LDA) who take part in the initiatives of the Association on a regular basis and help to achieve its objectives. c) Statutory members30 shall be: 1. representatives of the institutions represented on the Governing Board: one member appointed by the President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly one member appointed by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers one member appointed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (subject to confirmation) the President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe of the Council of Europe three members of the Congress appointed by its Bureau, among which at least one representative from one of the countries hosting Local Democracy Agencies.

2. The Local Democracy Agencies, which are established legal persons, represented by the Delegate.

3. Other organisations giving support to the LDAs may also be invited by the General Assembly to become statutory members of the Association.

The General Assembly could also invite other institutions supporting LDAs network to become statutory members and decides the amount of the annual membership fee, which is paid only by the active members.

30 The last amendments to the Statute of the Association on 17 June 2005 added as statutory members of the Association the Local Democracy Agencies and the three members of the Congress appointed by the Congress Bureau who are already mentioned as members of the Governing Board (art 6,b); furthermore, they del eted the possibility of having a representative of the European Commission as Statutory member.

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Except for the statutory members who are appointed by the institutions they represent, decisions concerning the admission of members is taken by the Governing Board, which is not required to justify about refusing a membership. The end of the membership can be caused by resignation, expulsion or by death. At present, the active members of the Association are 107 from 15 countries (and 50% of them are also partners of the LDAs). Among them we can find: • Local Authorities (municipalities, regions and provinces – about 58%): from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, France, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Lithuania, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Norway. • International Associations of Local Authorities: Assembly of European Regions, ENTO, CCRE. • Association of Local Authorities from Armenia, France, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Lithuania, and Moldova. • Non-governmental organizations(about 16%): from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, and Greece. • Individuals (about 20%): 21 from different countries.

1.3.6 Partners31 Partnership with Local and Regional Authorities and NGOs is the basis of the Local Democracy Agencies work. In fact, the Agencies could not exist without a concrete, stable and long term support coming from their partners at the local level, that is to say in the countries in which the LDAs are active, and at the international level, contributing from all over Europe.

International partners provide core financial support to the Agency and participate in its activity when have the required skills and capacities. They also promote the work

31 See ALDA’s CD-ROM, “Association of Local Democracy Agencies – 10th anniversary”. Partners are not cite d in the Association’s Statute but are a fundamental element for the LDAs activities.

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done by the Agency in their own community and encourage wider participation of their own partners.

Local partners support the Agency at the local level and participate in the activities contributing to ideas for activities and trying to ensure that the local needs are identified and satisfied. Communes and regions have an important role in this process: exchange of information, meetings among mayors, local administrators, experts, working tables and twin-ship are indispensable means to raise awareness among local actors and to foster the democratic and economic development at the local level.

Among the partners, the Agency identifies the Lead partner, which provides key support to the activity of the LDA and exercises on it a financial and managerial control. The lead partner also promotes the Agency within the Association, represents its interests, and encourages international partners to provide support to the Agency. He should be an effective link between the Agency and the international part.

Local and International Authorities and NGOs work together for a common purpose. This multilateral co-operation enriches the work of the Agencies providing many opportunities for know-how exchange and experience between the partners. At present, ALDA comprises a network of 216 partners from 21 European countries of which 52% are Local Authorities, 25% are NGOs, 7% regional authorities, and 16% others32.

32 Activity Report of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies for the year 2004. Document prepared by Doroth ee Fischer, press officer and project manager ALDA.

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2 ALDA AND LDAS’ PROGRAMMES

2.1 The role of the Local Democracy Agencies and their Association in the stabilisation process in South and Eastern Europe

The Local Democracy Agencies have been working in South East Europe (SEE from here on) since 1993 through a decentralised co-operation of local authorities and representatives of civil society, which proved to be efficient in the long-term perspective for the stabilisation, democratisation and development of the region. The action of democratic forces at local and regional level has proved crucial in helping to consolidate and develop democracy. Initially, during the wartime period, the Local Democracy Agencies supported citizens and local authorities with humanitarian aid, providing a solid and structured operational basis for solidarity actions coming from all European countries. At the same time, the Council of Europe provided the institutional framework in terms of democratic rules and principles, which are still a common ground. With the war ending, the function and activities of LDAs evolved and today they are a fundamental part in the stabilisation and long-term strengthening of democratic institutions in the countries of the region. The Local Democracy Agencies also play an important role in the long path to the admission to the European Union of these countries, which have really different situations and needs. The LDAs are of a relevant importance in the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe and they are members, together with the CLRAE, of the Steering Committee on Local Democracy and Trans-border co-operation. The participative and multilevel inclusive approach of the Agencies and of the Association in the planning and

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implementation of their actions is a guarantee that these activities correspond to the real needs and the available resources of those involved. The Association of Local Democracy Agencies, created in December 1999 at the initiative of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe of the Council of Europe and the LDA partners, has enhanced substantially the coordination and the identity of the LDAs and can be thought of as an instrument of action at a regional level. The network of the LDAs promotes practical initiatives to consolidate democracy at local level, fosters institution-building at the local level through exchange of know-how and training of local elected representatives and administrators, fosters the development of a civil society in which all sections of the community participate and promotes intercultural dialogue and respect for human rights. The LDAs and their partners, by maintaining their autonomy, have now an instrument for implementing shared decision making on the principles and the vision for the whole programme. The Association helps the Agencies by co-ordinating the overall LDAs activities, contributing to the fundraising and the development common projects, providing LDAs and Delegates with technical and administrative support, running training courses, providing forum for discussing the LDAs programme strategy and planning, promoting LDAs activities and, last but not least, receiving voluntary contributions from national, regional, and local authorities, foundations and other bodies. A wide range of activities and projects has been implemented in the last years thanks to and in co-operation with other international organisations such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OCSE), the United Nations and the European Union. In the years coming, the ALDA network will dedicate its attention especially to the local mechanisms to promote economic development and strengthen and stabilise democratic structures. The Association will also promote a pilot activity outside the SEE in order to prove the capacity of the already methodology in different areas,

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for example in Georgia. The ALDA also has the ambition to become an important partner in the enlargement process towards the SEE.

2.2 Major programmes realized by the Association

2.2.1 The “EU Mayors” Programme33 – the ALDA-ANCI Partnership One of the most relevant results of the ALDA-ANCI34 Partnership is the “EU Mayors” project, a year-long programme which was officially launched in Strasbourg on the 15th and 16th December 2003 and which ended in December 2004 with a conference in Mogliano Veneto – Treviso. This programme, conceived by the Association of Local Democracy Agencies in co-operation with the National Association of Italian Municipalities, brought together Local Authorities and NGOs (about 150 representatives from across Europe) from 6 different countries from Western and Eastern Europe – England, Ireland, Italy, France, Poland and Lithuania – all actors of European integration building up a Europe from below but not always informed and aware of the challenges and benefits that enlargement brings. The Delegates of the LDAs were included in the debate as long as the Balkan countries intend to become member states in the near future and, therefore, they have to assume European standards and best practices as soon as possible. Through this programme, the participating local authorities and NGOs are given the opportunity to meet and exchange their best practices in local democracy policies such as environmental issues, relations with citizens, public utilities and decision-making processes. This share of experiences and expertise allows the participants to learn from each other and to avoid bad practices becoming actors of the enlargement process. Four seminars were organised on different local governance topics, during which the core partners from the six countries exchanged best and “worst” practices, and

33 For more details about the project, see the EU Mayors CD-Rom, available by request to the Association of Local Democracy Agencies. 34 ANCI: Associazione Nazionale dei Comuni Italiani – National Association of Italian Municipalities.

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two study visits, one to Poland and the other to Lithuania, which allowed the partners to discover how local democracy is organised in the new EU member states. In general, this exchange aimed at helping each partner to better understand local governance structures of the other partners and to learn something new about these important themes. Seminar on Relations with citizens (Suresnes, France, 9-12 March 2004): aimed at treating in detail three main topics: communication with citizens, E- democracy, citizens’ complaints mechanisms. The participants presented case studies in these different topics; this exchange of best practices was very fruitful also thanks to the participation of some experts from outside. Seminar on Public Utilities (Reggio Emilia, Italy, 5-7 April 2004): for this workshop the chosen topics concerned the comparison of different legislative frameworks including EU regulations, public-public partnership vs. public-private partnership – different procurement methods as well as advantages/disadvantages, the price system of public services – definition of prices and tariffs, and public services and environmental sustainability. Seminar on Sustainable Regions under Global Rules: implementing UN environmental standards and EU practices locally (Carlow, Ireland, 24-25 June 2004). The main topics of the workshop were waste management including new recycling policies and sustainable development: the challenge local authorities face to implement Agenda 21 and UN environmental regulations. Seminar on Local decision-making….Lessons from an enlarged EU (Birmingham, England, 15-17 July 2004). The focus of the seminar was put on two main issues: how local authorities have approached a difficult decision and how they develop a strategic plan.

The seminars and study visits implemented satisfied the expectations of the participants and of the organisers as long as the exchange of best practices was fruitful and the representatives of local authorities and NGOs learnt new practices

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and each other in a better way. This project can be considered a success of the ALDA-ANCI Partnership.

2.2.2 The “Norwegian Programme”- Promoting local economic development in Western Balkans: youth groups capacity building The co-operation between ALDA and Regional Authorities and cities of Norway is extremely active and positive, it involves the Norwegian communities and municipalities in programmes supporting democracy, human rights and economic development in the Balkans. The Norwegian Government and Regional Authorities and cities of Norway are active members of the Association and finance many activities in the region and, in this case, they are the financing body of this specific project of local economic development. The basic idea of this programme is that, in the perspective of a future integration of the Balkan countries in the European Union, local economic and sustainable development and youth empowerment are necessary steps. This project can be seen as an indirect follow-up or complementary activity of another programme concentrating on local economic development, that is the programme funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs35. The general objective of the year-long programme for 2005 is local economic and sustainable development through the empowerment of young people. One of the main goals is to help prepare the countries of the South East Europe where the 11 LDAs are based (Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo UNMIK, and the “former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”) to achieve the required standards to access the EU proposed by the Stabilisation and Association Process. The main aims of the programme are as follows: - to increase the capacity of advocacy of youth

35 For details concerning the “French Programme”, see chapter 3, pages 87 to 128.

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- to increase their capacity in the 11 pilot regions and at the regional level to be actors in local economic development - to identify the potential trans-border co-operation activities in the field of economic development - to set up and implement pilot projects of local economic development - to strengthen the network of the LDAs and partnership.

The target groups are 20-35 year-old young entrepreneurs or young people with an interest in economic affairs (about 110 people) and 22 staff members of the Local Democracy Agencies. Indirect target groups are the communities of these regions and the partner cities and municipalities. The methodology employed includes trans- border co-operation and city-to-city co-operation, trainings of trainers and action planning through working groups. The most important activities are as follows: - Training for LDAs and ALDA staff on European Affairs, Brussels, 27 November-1 December 2004 - Training for LDAs and ALDA staff on the best practices for NGO sector and capacity of advocacy, Gijlan – Kosovo- 17-21 April 2005 - Training of trainers: LDA staff for local economic development based on youth involvement - Training of local youth groups organised by the 11 LDAs as a follow-up of the training if trainers on local economic development - Working groups with young entrepreneurs/young people based on the training on group analysis - Exchanges of best practices with Norway and internally

The activities implemented so far met the expectations of the organisers. Due to the difficult transport situation in Kosovo in winter, the Training for LDAs and ALDA staff had to be delayed to April 2005 and the participation during this training was a bit poor because of the still risky environment. Consequently, all the activities will not be implemented until August 2005.

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2.2.3 Italian and Balkans Municipal Partnership36 of ANCI The Association of Local Democracy Agencies also cooperates in this project conceived by ANCI. The National Association of Italian Municipalities is a voluntary, non-profit association aimed at representing and defending the interests and rights of local authorities and is made up of 6,800 associated municipalities. ANCI is a member of the International Union of Local Authorities and of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, and participates in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe of the Council of Europe. As long as ANCI has increasingly committed to the international cooperation, it has created the International Relations Department and the Office for Decentralised Co-operation through which it cooperates with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with various International Organisations. ANCI realises a decentralised type of cooperation linking the local dimension of the co-operation action and the national and international levels. This project, promoted by ANCI in co-operation with ALDA, CRESME RICERCHE S.p.A. and EUROPROGETTI & FINANZA and financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE from here on) of Italy, aims at transferring know-how and exchanging experience between Italian Municipalities and their public utilities services and Balkan area municipalities. Thanks to the decentralised co-operation, strong partnerships have been established between Italian and Balkan Municipalities, focusing on the relationship between administrators and social economic actors in order to optimise and multiply available resources and acquire new ones, and to strengthen civil society. The principal objective of the project is to improve and upgrade basic public services (such as water, gas, waste collection, and territorial management) in Balkan countries thanks to 10 Municipal Technical Units operating in 10 Balkan cities, which will produce project proposals on issues of interest for local municipalities. These projects will be then submitted to national or international bodies for the financing/co-financing of activities by the involved municipalities. The recipients of

36 The original name of the project in Italian is “I Comuni Italiani per I Comuni Balcanici”.

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the project are local administrators, officers, managers and staff of service companies responsible for the planning, development and management of the urban territory, with particular reference to basic services. These people will participate in capacity building activities and technical and operational trainings based on the transfer of know-how of Italian managers and officers in order to build their competence in managing the identified projects. After having conducted an in-depth analysis of local needs, selected Italian municipalities and service organisations capable of offering specific know-how and searched the most efficient solutions, the training can be carried in different ways: specialised modules, theoretical lessons, project works, expert and best-practice exchanges, workshops, and managerial mentoring among others. Balkan municipalities can have important benefits from this co-operation such as the improvement of the quality of life for the population and the building of a more efficient and democratic administration system. Not only the Balkan but also Italian municipalities can have advantages from this project: the development in Balkan countries of their public service companies, the development of capacity to work in an international context, a preferential path in dealing with Balkan local authorities and an opportunity to grow through decentralised co-operation.

2.3 A brief presentation of the 11 LDAs forming the network and their activities in 2004

In twelve years of activities, the Local Democracy Agencies programme has grown rapidly from two LDAs in 1993 up to 11 LDAs today. These Agencies are located in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Kosovo, and in “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. The LDAs network represents a group of Local Authorities sharing the same democratic values and supporting the democratic process, the protection of human rights and the importance of the participation of the civil society into the decision making process. This network could have a relevant large-scale impact on the region and could be a relevant

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political instrument. As mentioned in the first chapter, the Association is also trying to foster the establishment of a new LDA in Kutaisi, Georgia. Even though the network covers practically all the region of former Yugoslavia, it remains a loose structure, that is to say not characterised by heavy and complicated bureaucracy. Each LDA, hosted in a city, is a local independent NGO involving local community or a decentralised office of the lead partner – like LDA Zavidovici and LDA Prijedor – managing its own activities and projects without referring to a higher level. It is important to specify that no Agency is opened in a capital city; the majority are located in key but decentralised areas, where the presence of international community, such as International Organisations, is minimal. The LDAs can also participate in the projects of the Association, obviously if they are suitable for their needs. This slight structure and their independence gives the partners the opportunity to be more active in the projects of their Agency. Moreover, through the membership of the lead partners, each Agency can participate in the decision-making bodies of the Association. According to the needs and characteristics of its region, each LDA decides programmes and projects to be implemented in accordance with the leading partner and the funding. At the end of the year, the Agencies have to submit to the Association their Annual Report to show the activities implemented. The choice of the projects depends on the local needs and perspectives and can be very different from one Agency to the other.

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2.3.1 LDA Verteneglio, Croatia37 Delegate: Tullio Fernetich The LDA in Brtonigla/Verteneglio, created in 1996, is focusing particularly on trans-border cooperation and economic development as it is the only city of Istria with the majority of Italians. The most important activities for the year 2004 have been: • Strengthening of civil society and trans-border cooperation (financed by the Swiss Agency for Development, Finland, Liechtenstein and Basel): to develop the civil society, trans-border cooperation, the protection of minorities, to encourage young people to participate in the strengthening of civil society, and to include the future generation in the structures of local self- government. • Programme dedicated to the Trans-border Partnership (financed by the CLRAE): to strengthen the role and action of the LDA in a border territory, a historically united territory but today in sovereignty of Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. • Programme on sustainable development (financed by the City of Geneva, Tourist Association of Verteneglio and the LDA Verteneglio): to support this kind of development in the Verteneglio region and awareness raising on environmental issues. • Programme dedicated to communicative skills - Osijek (financed by the Local Government institute Budapest) : to improve the communication skills of LDA staff. • Programme “Actions for Capacity Building of Local Authorities and Civil Society in Southern and Eastern Europe38” (financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with ANCI): to strengthen the democratic process in Southern and Eastern Europe.

37 For all the activities and projects of all the LDAs, see the Activity Report of the LDAs for the Year 2004, document prepared by Dorothee Fischer, press officer and project manager ALDA with the support of the LDAs’ Delegates on the 21st January 2005. 38 For some more information about this project, see Paragraph 2.4.

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• Programme “Best Practice” (organised and supported by the Association of the communes and cities from Croatia, the Council of Europe and the Croatian Government): to improve the management capacities of local authorities. • Programme SEENET “Let’s rebuild the bridges with the Balkans” (supported by the Region Toscana – Italy, Istria and the Commune of Verteneglio among others): To foster local economic development. • Programme “Città del vino” (in collaboration with the Verteneglio Tourist Association): to encourage local economic development and in particular the wine sector which is the backbone of the economy of this region.

2.3.2 LDA Sisak, Croatia Delegate: Tatjana Puskaric The Sisak area was heavily affected by the war in Croatia from 1991 to 1995; the Local Democracy Agency was created in 1996 to help this war ravaged region. The region is still going through strong economic difficulties and a delicate process of stabilization and return of different ethnic groups. The LDA is seriously engaged in social inclusion of the weak citizens, in mine removal activities since 2002, and in project of local economic development in order to restart the economy. In 2004, many activities have been realized and are still ahead: • Promoting Effective Local Level Democracy in Croatia (sponsored by CARDS Democratic Stabilisation Programme, International Rescue Committee and Serbian Democratic Forum): this project wants to contribute to effective democracy building at the local level in Croatia by strengthening cooperation between citizens and government, by facilitating local governments’ transparency, and by building citizens capacity to advocate and address local needs. This programme also encouraged inter-ethnic dialogue on community priorities and the respect for human rights. • Human Rights Calendar (sponsored by European Youth foundation): this project aimed at strengthening the respect for human rights and fundamental

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rights, training and informing about human rights, fostering an attitude of tolerance, respect and solidarity, providing knowledge about human rights in both their national and international dimensions and raising awareness as the means by which human rights can be translated into social and political reality. For this project, the LDA Sisk received the French Human Rights Prize “Liberté-Egalité-Fraternité” in December 2004. • The integration of women in the Croatian society through the establishment of a support centre: SOS phone line for the victims of family violence and social exclusion (sponsored by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Lichtenstein, Canton Basel, City of Sisak, Municipality of Dvor, Sisak-Moslavina County, and Zagreb Bank): to support women victims of violence and social exclusion, give psycho-social and legal advices, and raise the public awareness about this problem. • Actions of Capacity Building for Local Authorities and NGOs in South Eastern Europe (sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affaires in collaboration with ANCI): to foster the strengthening of the democratisation process in the region. • Promotion of Inter-ethnic dialogue (sponsored by the Council of Europe) to improve relation between ethnic minorities (Serbs, Roma, Jew, Czech) and the majority (Croats), inter-ethnic dialogue, and facilitate education for minorities’ rights in the Banovina region of Sisak-Moslavina county. • The exchange of best practices and support for the development of Nature Park Lonjsko polje (sponsored by Veneto Region): implemented in cooperation with local partner authorities and institution from Italy and Croatia.

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2.3.3 LDA Osijek, Croatia Delegate: Miljenko Turniski The city of Osijek is located in the Osijek-Baranja County, at the border with Serbia and Montenegro (with Vojvodina39 region, along the Danube) and Hungary. This region, and in particular the city of Vukovar, was seriously affected by the war and a part of the region was under the administration of the United Nations until the end of 1998. The situation was very serious and for this reason the most important activities of the LDA concern economic development of the area, training with local authorities, and trans-border cooperation since 1993. In particular, the year 2004 was very active in these fields: • Trans-border cooperation in the Euroregion Danube-Drava-Sava (supported by the Swiss Development Agency, Finland, Liechtenstein, and Canton Basel): the aim of the project was to further develop the cooperation, in various fields, in the Euroregion Danube-Drava-Sava by educating target groups on transitional processes and the EU integration process and establishing a network of cooperation between the participants. • Training Seminar on Communication skills (supported by Local Government Initiative and Public Reform Initiative Budapest): to raise awareness of the importance of communication as a powerful tool in the field of democratisation, develop communication skills and competences, and help the participants to communicate their results and achievements to the public in a more efficient way. • Sustainable Development and Protection of Environment in South-Eastern Europe (supported by Canton Geneva): the main objective was to assess the situation concerning environmental protection and waste management in the region and to analyse the interests and competences of local authorities,

39 Vojvodina is an autonomous region of Serbia and Montenegro at the border with Hungary and Croatia. In the past it was part of Hungary and Croatia, that is why the present population is still mixed and includes Serbs, Croats, Magyars, Romanians, Slovaks, and Hungarians.

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institutions and organizations. The programme also wanted to raise awareness and to train some experts of the field. • Action for Local Development in the Balkans (supported by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs): to foster the local economic development through the strengthening of skills of the LDA and a study of the territory. • Actions for Capacity Building of Local Authorities and Civil Society in Southern and Eastern Europe (supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs): to foster the democratic development in this area through the active participation of citizens and interests groups in the decision-making process in the Balkans. The decentralized decision-making process promotes stability in the area and resolution or prevention of conflicts. Subsequently, human rights are promoted. • Training “How to communicate with the media?” (supported by the OCSE Mission of the Republic of Croatia): the training aimed at raising awareness of the importance of an effective communication, increasing participants’ knowledge and competences in managing information and using communication instruments, and giving special focus on internal and external communication when communicating with the media.

2.3.4 LDA Subotica, Serbia and Montenegro Delegate: Stanka Parac Damjanovic In 1993, the Council of Europe created the first Local Democracy Agency40 in Subotica, in the Vojvodina region, an autonomous region of Serbia at the border with Hungary and inhabited by a minority of Hungarians. The most important activities concerned, in 2004, local/regional democracy development and capacity building through education and training. Particular attention was also given to intensifying cross-border and regional initiatives and awareness raising on EU issues that is integration process and the role of local authorities:

40 At that time Local Democracy Embassy.

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• Training seminar for young political leaders (supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation): to help to educate a new profile of young politicians in a completely restored system of self-government, to support the modernisation process in the local community, and to make them acquainted with modern communication as well as political skills through theory and practical training sessions to improve their leadership skills. • Multiethnic Vojvodina: a new region in euro-regional co-operation (supported by the British Embassy of Belgrade and the British Government): programme aimed at promoting inter-ethnic dialogue and tolerance in the region and to foster cross-border and regional cooperation between Vojvodina and neighbouring counties in Croatia, Hungary and Romania. Another important objective was to make LDA Subotica more visible as an instrument at the disposal of both local and regional authorities to work towards EU integration process, local democracy building through increased democratic participation and overall development. • Round Table: Communication Strategy on EU (supported by LGI Budapest): a work on the role of the local media in the public promotion of European standards, respect for local democracy and human rights. • Actions for Capacity Building of Local Authorities and Civil Society in SEE (supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ALDA-ANCI Partenariato): programme aimed at building local capacities and improving cooperation between local authorities and the civil society to ensure a better participation and responsible decision-making at the local level. • Cooperation with the Standing Conference of Cities and Municipalities of Serbia (supported by EU/CARDS Programme): to assist in the definition of a code of conduct for elected and appointed local officials in Serbia. • Osijek and Subotica in cross-border cooperation initiatives (supported by the Balkan Trust Foundation and Regional Office Belgrade). • Inter-ethnic relations and minority rights protection.

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• Releasing Indigenous Multiculturalism through Education (RIME) Programme(supported by the EU/CARDS Programme): to identify the key problems and the range of activities undertaken in respective regions concerning the issues of xenophobia and ethnic discrimination.

2.3.5 LDA Central and Southern Serbia (based in Niš) Delegate: Emiliano Bertoldi Founded in 2001, this Agency works on the border with Bulgaria, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Based in Niš, its main activities concern the capacity building for civil society and local authorities, local development, and trans-border cooperation and are implemented in Niš, Kraljevo and Kragujevac: • Sustainable development and Protection of Environment. Cooperation with local authorities (sponsored by Canton Geneva): meetings, campaigns, seminars, and TV debates in order to raise awareness of the importance of the protection of environment and of sustainable development. • Actions of Capacity Building for Local Authorities and Civil Society/Strengthening Local Authorities 41(sponsored by Irish Aid, Italian MAE42, and ANCI-ALDA). • Regional Meeting of Youth Centres connected to LDAs (Central and Southern Serbia, Kosovo, Zavidovici, and Prijedor) (supported by the Italian MAE and Irish Aid): this project aimed at training and discussing on voluntary work, non-violent communication, youth councils, local development, and networking. • Establishment of a Youth Info Point and support to a Youth Centre (supported by the Italian MAE). • Internship for young graduate experts within local governments and the LDA (sponsored by Irish Aid).

41 For this programme, see the preceding LDAs. 42 MAE: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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• International conference on industrial dismissed areas (sponsored by Irish Aid) and a pilot project on agriculture. • Building relationship with the Local Authorities and the Community of Leskovac: to re- establish the no-existing relationship with Leskovac. • Trans-border cooperation between Serbia, Bulgaria and Macedonia (sponsored by Irish Aid). • Need assessment on the conditions of Refugees, IDPs and minorities in Kraljevo and Southern Serbia (sponsored by Irish Aid): aimed at assessing and understanding the conditions of minorities and refugees in the area and defining activities to be implemented. • Other activities: tools for the establishment of Social enterprises in CSS43 - training activities for the development of female economic initiative in the social services and support to public managers in transferring European models of Welfare State and support to the programme Community Cooperation of the “Tavolo Trentino con la Serbia” in Kraljevo.

2.3.6 LDA Nikšić, Montenegro Delegate: Kerim Medjedovic This LDA, created in 2001, is particularly involved in activities for capacity building for local authorities and NGOs, trans-border cooperation and inclusion of youth into the decision making-process at local level: • Strengthening of Local Authorities (supported by Irish Aid): to reinforce civil society, enhance participation of minorities and young people in public life and establish and stimulate trans-border cooperation through the development of capacities of Local Authorities in Montenegro in managing public affairs, following the standards of the Council of Europe and

43 CSS: Central and Southern Serbia.

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enhancing the level of cooperation between communities and socio- economic actors through partnership. • Minority Rights and Confidence Building Measures among Different Ethnic Groups (sponsored by Irish Aid): this project aimed at promoting the dialogue between the majority and the minority groups in Montenegro and supporting the capacity and advocacy of the minority groups. • Trans-border Cooperation Issues between Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (supported by Irish Aid): involving three categories of people – youth, local authorities, and civil society. • Participation of citizens in the decision-making at the local level (sponsored by CHF Montenegro). • Local Economic Development in the Balkans (funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs): to animate citizens and local authorities to get more actively involved in local development and to find and foster the most important sectors for the economic development of the region. • Capacity Building for Local Authorities and NGOs in SEE (supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs): to support the democratisation and stabilisation process in SEE through the strengthening of capacity building and institutions and organisation – thanks to trainings of trainers for local authorities and NGOs – and to raise civil awareness and participation through the development of civil society – for example participation of youth in city councils and information centres for young people. • Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection (financed by Canton Geneva): aimed at raising awareness of the local self-government employees and citizens about the protection of the environment and sustainable development. • Improving the Status of People with Disabilities in Montenegro and Highlighting the 2003 as the European Year of People with Disabilities (financed by Region Friuli Venezia Giulia):

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• Youth Exchange between the Youth Parliaments of Nikšić and Neuchâtel (funded by the City of Neuchâtel).

2.3.7 LDA Kosovo Delegate: Stève Duchene The LDA of Kosovo is situated in Gijlan and was created in 2003 to help this region to find a balance and to solve some of its serious problems. That is why, the most important activities concern capacity building for Local Authorities, cooperation for multiethnic dialogue between Serbs and Albanians, and inclusion of youth into the decision-making process as long as this region has a very high rate or births and unemployment: • Supporting different local initiatives which aimed at raising people awareness regarding environment protection (supported by Canton Geneva). • Inter-ethnic dialogue initiatives in Mitrovica (supported by Equipe de Paix dans les Balkans). • Organisation of a multi-ethnic conference with municipalities from all Kosovo (sponsored by Association of Kosovo Municipalities). • Creation of a working group on local economic development (funded by France and Norway) and on media and Internet (LGI project). • Project on a school programme reform as far as civic education is concerned (financed by the Ministry of Education of Kosovo and by OCSE). • Trainings on conflict management (Financed by ANCI – the National Association of Italian Municipalities). • Launch or the project on youth with the Ministry of Youth of Kosovo (in cooperation with the Scouts and Guides de France, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Youth Planet among others). • Other activities : visit of a French youth group, cooperative games for children and teenagers, Partners meeting, “French-.speaking Saturdays” (funded by Youth Planet, Bureau de Liaison de la France à Pristina, European

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Commission), organisation of a forum for NGOs, training for educators, and raising awareness campaign to encourage citizens to take part in the debates organised by their municipalities.

2.3.8 LDA Ohrid, “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” Delegate: Mirjana Lozanoska Founded in 1996, this Agency works particularly on peace, democracy, local self- government, respect for human rights and tolerance, and on trans-border cooperation as long as Ohrid is situated close to the Greek and Albanian borders: • Promoting Civil society and trans-border co-operation (financed by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Governments of Liechtenstein and Finland, and Basel Stadt Canton): composed by two forums – “New territorial organisation in Macedonia” and “Human resources management in the light of the new competencies of the municipalities”- it was aimed at promoting the participation of common people in the decision-making process and at promoting the co-operation with Greece and Albania. • Training for Youth on “promoting the participation of Youth in the decision-making process” : the objective was to give a group of young people coming from 6 municipalities a theoretical background, techniques, rules and skills of the decision-making process. • Sustainable development and environment in Southern and Eastern Europe (funded by Canton Geneva): to give information about solid waste – how to reduce its negative impact on the environment, how to use it for new useful products, how to select, collect, transport, and transform it. • Round table “Access to the information resources”: discussion about the necessity of a new Law in the Parliament to have free access to information resources (particularly for journalists).

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• Action for the Local Development in the Balkans (financed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs): through a training on social and economic development, working groups, action plans, and technical assistance. • Actions for Capacity Building of Local Authorities and Civil Society in SEE (financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs): through trainings on conflict management for civil society and Local authorities, a training on Participatory Planning Process for Local Authorities, workshops for Youth on participation in the planning process for solving problems at the local level; • Project “Culture and Religion – Bridges of Cohesion” (funded by CBM programme of the CoE) • Project “Strengthening partnership and co-operation” (financed by CLRAE)

2.3.9 LDA Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina Delegate: Patrizia Bugna Prijedor is situated in the Serbian part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, that is the Republika Srpska. Even though this region was the centre of strong nationalism from 1992 to 1996, nowadays this city could have a high number of returnees from different ethnic groups. The Agency, created in 2000, concentrates on coexistence, inter-ethnic dialogue and reconciliation, youth issues, transparency and participation: • Promotion of the civic forum of Prijedor (supported by the Association Project Prijedor): it intended to improve the co-operation of activities on conflict and reconciliation in the community, on European integration, and on a more active participation of the Civic Forum in some of the activities of the LDA, underlining its function of place where citizens of different nationalities can discuss, implement activities, and promote reconciliation. • School for Peace III (supported by ANCI-ALDA Programme “Capacity Building for Local Authorities and NGOs in SEE”): it focused on the promotion of dialogue and non-violent communication, conflict

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management, active participation of young people in the local and political life of the community, the role of youth organisations, networking and cooperation between youth organisations not only at the local level but also at the international one. • Prijedor town of coexistence and reconciliation: series of trainings and workshops in schools with a high percentage or returnees to provide the children, teachers and parents with the tools for non-violent communication and tolerance and to help them to deal with differences in a multiethnic society. • Journalism Traineeship for free, independent, and multiethnic information (supported by Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Basel and Finland). • Support to the Youth Centres of Prijedor (financed by the Italian MAE and ANCI-ALDA programme). • Promoting Transparency and Citizens Participation (financed by the Italian MAE through the ANCI-ALDA Programme): realised through a training on conflict management and a training on participatory process for local authorities. • Working group for Transparency and reform of public administration (Supported by LDA Prijedor, OCSE, Municipality of Prijedor and local NGOs): it promoted the definition of criteria for a transparent allocation of the municipal resources for the NGOs sector, a training for NGOs and administrators of the local communities about municipal budgeting, information about the activities of local NGOs. • Public debates with the candidates for mayor at the municipal elections (supported by the Association Project Prijedor): aimed at making young people and citizens more interested and involved in the local political life and in the choices affecting the entire community. • Other activities and projects: “Promotion of Europe from below”, “Culture, Sport and other exchanges”, “humanitarian help”, “Local sustainable development – become an entrepreneur”, “Support to the Association of Agricultural Producers of Prijedor”, “Promotion of young entrepreneurs in

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the agricultural sector”, “Local Economic Development in the Balkans”, Protection of the environment in the SEE”, Network of rural tourism in Prijedor and the Balkans”.

2.3.10 LDA Zavidovici, Bosnia and Herzegovina Delegate: Simonetta Donsante The LDA of Zavidovici was established in 1997 after many years of cooperation between Italian NGOs and local authorities with the host city and its community. The Zenica-Doboj Kanton was severely affected by the war, that is way the most important programmes of the LDA concern economic development, intercultural education, youth participation, refugees and national minorities, and environment. • Environment, health, and development 2004 – Trans-border cooperation (sponsored by Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Finland, and Basel Stadt Canton): to foster economic development and respect for the environment through a media campaign for the promotion of the project at the local level, a publication on the Tajan natural area and its protection, environmental education in primary schools, and international youth eco-camp. • Sustainable development and environmental protection in SEE (sponsored by Geneva Canton): in order to assess the problematic situation regarding the collecting of waste materials and to inform people about illegal neglect of waste and how to reduce waste. • Local Development in the Balkans (sponsored by the French Ministry of Foreign Affaires): through a training for trainers, local working groups - meeting regularly to discuss and analyse the ways of improving local conditions, finding solutions, or developing proposals – and diagnosis of the territory. • Schools – The other friend (sponsored by Nave – Brescia – and Primary School of Nave): this project consisted in the realisation of a movie in collaboration between Nave and Zavidovici Primary Schools.

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• A bridge with the Balkans (sponsored by Municipality of Alba, Ufficio della Pace of Alba, and Technical School of Zavidovici): to produce a youth exchange by producing a video, involving school in Zavidovici and in Alba in youth issues. • Strani-Vari 2004: trainings for social animators and educators and recreational centres for children (sponsored by numerous Italian Municipalities and Associations). • Roma integration through confidence building measures (funded by the CBM Programme of the Council of Europe): assessment of the Roma situation in the Zavidovici area, a roundtable, a tutoring activity of Roma children and youth, and a media action to improve the situation of this minority in the area. • Communication skills (sponsored by LGI Budapest and ALDA): the workshops organised aimed at improving the communication skills of local authorities and NGOs. • Actions of Capacity Building for Local Authorities and Civil Society in SEE (financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs): Training of Trainers (TOT), Trainings for local authorities and civil society, a youth workshop and a Youth Info Point were established to help in the development of capacity building of civil society, youth, and Local Authorities. • Sustainable Tourism Programme (sponsored by CTA of Turin, Group of Volunteers for Development of Turin, and ATOM Zavidovici): a travel through different interesting and attractive sites in Bosnia-Herzegovina was organised as an example of possible sustainable tourism in the region, comprising a “classical” part and an “adventurous” part. • Other activities: “School of Poljice”, “Garden for Children”, “The road from Brescia to Zavidovici”, “Humanitarian Aid” – to help families to deal with urgent problems.

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2.3.11 LDA Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina Delegate: Roberto Maselli After several months of preparation activities and meetings, the LDA Mostar opened on 22 November 2004 with the support of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe. The programmes implemented so far are: • Local Economic Development in the Balkans (financed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs). • Actions for Capacity Building in SEE (financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). • Democratisation project with secondary schools from Mostar (financed by the Government of Luxembourg). • Other activities foreseen concern Exchange of best practices, trainings for civil society and local authorities in the fields of conflict management and participation in the decision-making process, and establishment of an Info point for youth.

It is interesting to observe that 5 Delegates out of 11 are not local people but foreigners, 4 Italians and 1 French. This is due to fact that in some regions, especially where people have lived ethnic conflicts, it is better to have an external and impartial Delegate who organises activities and tries to reconcile different ethnic groups.

The most important sectors in which all the Agencies have some projects are: • Inter-ethnic and inter-religious dialogue and reconciliation and trans-border cooperation • Democracy and institution-building • Local authorities strengthening and civil society participation in the decision- making process • Youth and women participation in the decision-making process

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• Local economic development, sustainable development and environment protection (in agriculture, industry and tourism) • Human rights and minorities protection • Refugees return to their countries.

2.4 The Activity Report of the Association 2004

In the last years, the Association of Local Democracy Agencies reached a level of activities never obtained before. The list of the members, the staff, and the programmes of the Association are growing and, with them, the responsibilities and the skills required to face the needs in the field. The Association is doing an effort for improving the co-ordination and the effectiveness of its work and relationships keeping the understanding and knowledge of the process and of the reality in the Balkans, which is the basis of its activity.

The 2004 Activity Report of the Association shows the major programmes and activities implemented: EU Mayors Programme44 (sponsored by the EU Information Programme Prince): this programme aimed at making local authorities aware of the challenges and benefits of EU enlargement. During one year (December 2003-December 2004), ALDA organised 4 seminars with best practice exchanges on local governance issues such as relations with citizens, sustainable development, and decision-making. ANCI/ALDA Programme “Actions of Capacity Building for Local Authorities and Civil Society in Southern and Eastern Europe”45

44 For further details about this project, see Section 2.2 Major programmes realised by the Association, pages 57 to 62. 45 For further details about this project, see Section 2.2 Major programmes realised by the Association, pages 57 to 62.

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(sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and supported by ANCI – the Italian Association of Municipalities): this project supports the process of democratisation in SEE trying to strengthen the institutions and organisations, foster civil awareness and participation through the development of civil society, promote pluralism both at political and civil society level, and promote the participation of people in the decision-making process. Training of Trainers on communication skills: Capacity Building in local governance and leadership – communication skills for NGOs and local governments active in democratisation processes (financed by LGJ Budapest): the objective was to strengthen internal and external communication processes of the LDAs, ALDA, and the local authorities working with them, increasing their abilities to manage and use information instruments inside and outside the LDAs network in a more efficient way. Local Economic Development46 (sponsored by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs) : the aim of this project was to assess the current economic needs in the areas of the 11 LDAs through SWOT analysis and, consequently, to develop activities to foster economic development. Promoting Local Economic Development in the Western Balkans: youth groups capacity building47 (sponsored by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in partnership with KS – the Norwegian Association of Municipalities): this projects reflects ALDA’s priorities for the period 2003-2006, that is to foster local economic development and youth empowerment to make these countries achieve the necessary standards to access the European Union.

46 For this project in detail, see Chapters 3 and 4. 47 For further details about this project, see Section 2.2 Major programmes realised by the Association, pages 57 to 62.

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Participation of civil society in the decision-making process at the local level. A common added value for local authorities in Europe (funded by DG Education and Culture of the European Commission): this programme aimed at assessing the inclusion of civil society in the decision- making process at the local level and to question whether it is a common and shared European value. Pilot project in Georgia: a new LDA in Kutaisi will be opened in summer 2005. The proposal for the establishment in this country came from the Norwegian and British members of ALDA and is also one of the priorities of the actions of the Council of Europe. This Agency will be the opportunity for the Association to test its methodology to another geographical area. Setting-up of a new LDA in Mostar (supported by the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Government of Luxembourg): after a long period of preparatory activities, the LDA in Mostar was opened on 24 November 2004. The Agency is already involved in some programmes of ALDA: “Actions of Capacity Building for Local Authorities and Civil Society in SEE”, “Local Economic Development”, and “Sustainable development, protection of environment and waste management”. Networking: cooperation with the network NALAs, contacts for setting up an LDA in Albania, participation in many seminars and conferences and many other activities.

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2.5 Programme of Activities 2005

The objectives established by ALDA for the period 2003-2006 are: to strengthen the partnership, the LDAs and their mandate, to strengthen the membership and the structure of the Association, and finally to improve the internal and external communication. Specifically, its main objectives for the current year are48: I. To enlarge the membership of the Association with a relevant presence of all the European Countries, with a specific approach to acceding countries. II. To enlarge the partnership of the LDAs and to strengthen the operational capacities of the LDAs. III. To integrate the LDA work into the enlargement. IV. To work on strengthening the role of local authorities in the European Union building process. V. To prove the LDA methodology outside the South East European region. VI. To stabilize the functioning structure of the ALDA.

The major projects and activities on the agenda of the Association for this year49 are on-going projects managed by ALDA and also implemented by the LDAs, which also concretise other activities, specific of each Agency and depending on the partners too. These projects are part of the long term action plan of the Association approved in the General Assembly in Subotica, in 2003: ¾ Presence of the Delegates in the Plenary of the Congress and training in Management

48 For details, see the Programme of activities of the Association of Local Democracy Agency for 2005 and related budget – Governing Board, 29thof January 2005 – Brussels, Belgium. Document prepared by the Director of the ALDA, Mrs. Antonella Valmorbida, and the Treasurer, Mr. Jean Louis Testud. 49 For details, see the Programme of activities of the Association of Local Democracy Agency for 2005 and related budget – Governing Board, 29thof January 2005 – Brussels, Belgium. Document prepared by the Director of the ALDA, Mrs. Antonella Valmorbida, and the Treasurer, Mr. Jean Louis Testud.

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¾ Annual seminar in March, in Rome: improving relationship between ALDA and LDAs ¾ Promotional activities: newsletter, website, annual report ¾ Report of the support of Irish aid in the last 3 years. ¾ Promoting civil society and local democracy in Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo (2004-05) – Irish Aid ¾ Local Development in the Balkans (MAE France) ¾ Sustainable Development and Protection of Environment (Canton Geneva/Fedre) ¾ Actions for Capacity Building of Local Authorities and Civil Society in Southern and Eastern Europe (MAE Italy) ¾ Cities of Italy for the Cities of the Balkans (MAE Italy) ¾ Interreg III a, the LDAs as a pilot project to support democracy and civil society ¾ Youth and entrepreneurship (sponsored by the Government of Norway) ¾ Promoting Civil Society in Belarus (MAE Italy) ¾ Development activities for LDA Mostar (Luxembourg, Leichtenstein, Interreg III a – Region Puglia) ¾ Interreg III a: the experience of the LDAs as development of participation of civil society into democratic process ¾ Promoting partnership for LDAs (with Congress funds)

Some other programmes/activities will be probably approved: ¾ LGI Budapest: institutionalisation of Participatory Planning Process ¾ Trans-border cooperation and interethnic dialogue (4th year) ¾ Local Development in the Balkans (France) ¾ Local and Sustainable Tourism (King Baudoin Foundation) ¾ Active Citizenship (EU and Kaunas)

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Some of the programmes are not funded yet. If they were not financed, this would affect the functioning mechanism of the Association and ALDA would be obliged to reduce part of its activities. That is why the activity of fund-raising of the Association, membership and partnerships are vital to ensure the pursue of activities and projects.

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3 LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE BALKANS

The recent conflict in Kosovo let the West and the international community understand that they had underestimated, once again, the powerful forces of ethnic hatred and history in the Balkans. Just after the end of the war, the international community promised to guarantee peace and stability in the region and since then it has been involved in the region and has been contributing fundamental financial support to reconstruction effort. These countries face complex, long-term problems and they are likely to face economic hard times for the upcoming years. Although the European Union, the United States, international organisations and NGOs can contribute substantially to the improvement of the situation in the region, the bulk of the responsibility lies with the countries in the Balkans themselves. One of the most important challenges is to promote sustainable economies in the Balkan area. Although reconstruction and economic development alone will not be sufficient to bring long-term peace and stability to the region, rising living standards can create concrete incentives and can help reduce political and ethnic tensions. In order to foster economic development, it is fundamental to attract foreign and domestic investment, which requires a stable environment. In the upcoming years, these countries will have to deal not only with a range of macroeconomic and structural reforms, but also with many serious problems such as political instability, corruption, organised crime, legal and regulatory reforms as well as civil society and institution-building in order to create an environment capable of attracting investment. The resolution of these economic problems – poverty, stagnant economies, unemployment, and a lack of hope for the future – will help avoid other conflicts, as they contributed to the environment that made such conflicts possible.

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According to the Independent Task Force Report50, in 2000, macroeconomic conditions varied markedly within the region but all the economies of the Balkans are struggling to carry out the transition to market economies and have much work to establish stable macroeconomic environments. One of the major challenges is to create a market economy where it did not exist before. In general, the Balkan economies are relatively poor and they have underdeveloped infrastructures, weak legal, banking and regulatory systems, a pervasive corruption in both government and private sector, a small private sector which rarely obtains loans from banks, political instability and ethnic tensions. Moreover, the industrial sector uses obsolete technology and the small national economies are insufficiently integrated into a regional market. The Task Force made some important recommendations in order to achieve macroeconomic stability and, therefore, to encourage investment: to control government spending by restricting expenditures, to reform the tax system to improve revenue collection, to ensure the political independence of their central banks to stimulate the development of the private sector, and to maintain price stability. At the microeconomic level, the recommendations concerned the reform of the financial system, the liberalisation of regulations concerning the creation and operation of the private sector, and the creation of opportunities for foreign strategic investors to bring in capital, advanced technology and management expertise. Crucial non-economic challenges are political stability, legal reforms and institution and civil society building. One fundamental question to foster development is the adoption of modern market-oriented laws and regulations to create more open markets and to expand trade and investment by reducing or eliminating trade barriers. If these countries created a regional market, they would probably attract some more investments. Therefore, the Independent Task Force pointed out the importance of the macroeconomic and structural reforms in order to attract investment, as well as the resolutions of problems such as political instability, organised crime, legal and

50 Promoting Sustainable Economies in the Balkans, Report of the Independent Task Force sponsored by the Council of Foreign Relations, 2000.

Chapter 3 regulatory reforms, corruption, and the construction of civil society and institution- building. Another important point is that the prospect of integration into the European Union can be an important factor in creating a powerful political dynamic towards economic and institutional reforms and containing regressive nationalist and ethnic impulses.

Since the end of the war, many organisations, governmental and non-governmental, have been working in the Balkans to achieve these compelling objectives. The Association of Local Democracy Agencies is one of these organisations, stressing the importance of the democracy and civil society building from below. The majority of its programmes concern the development of civil society and its participation in the decision-making process, but it also made some projects on economic development at the local level. One of these economic activities has been the project Local Economic Development in the Balkans, funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This programme was aimed at creating conditions to reinforce local economic actors working for development and able to exploit human, natural and technical resources at the local level. The goal is a sustainable and well-balance economic development in the long- term based on local resources and on the principle of a participative democracy and forming an heritage for the community; it is an idea of development based on territory’s strengths. Indirectly, the programme would like to break a common habit of Balkan’s people, that is their expectation of always receiving international aid, and to make them understand that the best kind of development is the one achieved through their local strengths.

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3.1 The pilot project “Local Economic Development in the Balkans”

The pilot project “Local Economic Development in the Balkans”, a major topic of this dissertation, was the result of the work of Mr. Martial Paris, coordinator of this project for the Association of Local Democracy Agencies and assistant of the Director, and two trainers: Mrs Geneviève Salaün, educator at the Centre de Formation Professionnelle et de Promotion Agricole de Caulnes51 – France – and Mr. René Caspar. The project was sponsored by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs52 (80.000 Euro53, that is 44.5% of the total budget) and took place over a period of approximately one year: it officially started during a meeting in Strasbourg on 18 December 2003, when the programming of seminars was established, and ended in January 2005. The general aim of the project was to elaborate and test an integrated and sustainable development strategy which could include local resources and international interventions, that is to elaborate an action for local development in the regions in which the Local Democracy Agencies work. The distinctive element of this programme has been the action of working groups - within the Agencies - for local economic development, in which the different actors of the development process participated in. The project wanted to train some local development operators as well as the participants in the working groups, who had to organise some meetings on the most important subjects of local development basing themselves on the principle of the participative planning. The most important function of these working groups was to elaborate some action plans to encourage local economic and social development which should be approved by local authorities. The project also included some actions to awaken people to the theme of decentralised co-operation and its role in the local economic development

51 Abbreviation : CFPPA 52 Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Direction Générale de la coopération et du développement – Mission pour la coopération non gouvernementale, coopération décentralisée. 53 For the detailed budget, see the annexes, pages 295 to 298.

Chapter 3 process, thanks to the collaboration of Cités Unies de France, City of Suresnes and Betton Montenegro Association54. The principal partners of the programme have been: the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture, the Local Democracy Agencies and the towns hosting the LDAs, Betton Montenegro Association, the City of Suresnes and Cités Unies de France. Other important donors made a contribution towards the project: the Council of Europe, the European Union, the Swiss Agency for Development55 and a network of European towns of 18 different countries. The action consisted in creating some working groups, which could strengthen and support professions engaged in the local development process through the consolidation of their know-how, as well as in making contacts with representatives from the different economic sectors. This action was aimed at: • strengthening the local economic and social development mechanisms in the South Eastern European countries in order to allow their opening to international experiences; • encouraging citizens’ participation in the decision-making process concerning the economic development of the community; • increasing the knowledge of local authorities and civil society in South Eastern Europe about the priorities of local economic and social development of their region.

The sectors particularly concerned with the activities of the programme were: ¾ training for trainers ¾ informal teaching ¾ multi-sectorial professional training ¾ rural and integrated development ¾ development education

54 Betton Monténégro Association: French Association participating actively in the “French Programme” and in the activities of the City of Rozaje; it is also a major partner of the LDA of Montenegro. 55 Swiss Agency for Development: Agence Suisse de Développement.

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The research-action methodology adopted for this project was based on the principle of the evaluation of the action, which allowed to perform an action planning with a training and an evaluation of each step of the project. This kind of planning allows to build a common and useful instrument to work in a network.

The specific objectives can be summarised as follows: o training of 22 animators of local development action and local working groups in South Eastern Europe, 2 for each LDA; o establishment and functioning of 11 local working groups on local development made up of 15 people for each LDA (165 people in total) coming from local authorities, businesses, associations and civil society; o definition of 11 action plans on local development in each region of the LDAs.

The programme was subdivided into 5 Actions: Action 1: training of the animators of the local economic and social development actions. During this first stage, the Delegates of the LDAs, the representatives of the hosting towns, Ville de Suresnes, Betton Monetenegro Association and Cités Unies de France met in Strasbourg and Suresnes to plan the implementation of the programme and later chose the animators of the local action, two for each LDA. The training concerned the creation of a network, the actors and partners of local development, the creation of working groups. Action 2: territorial animation, that is establishment and functioning of 11 working groups at the local level animated by the participants in the training course. In each LDA, 15 local actors were chosen among local authorities, associations, businesses and civil society identifying their respective roles and relations. Their function was: to bring out the territory and ecological heritage, to foster the development of sustainable businesses using local resources, to create relations between the actors and the community, to

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favour the cultural and social identity of the region. These working groups met 3 times a year for 2 days. Action 3: drafting and formal signature of 11 action plans for local development. These plans had to identify the role of all participants in the working groups, the objectives and the stages of its realization. The working groups defined, during the meetings, priorities and sectors of intervention such actions for rural development, aid to existing businesses, infrastructures development, sustainable tourism development and industrial reorganization, institution of cultural and social associations, integration of different sectors such as production, transformation and commercialisation, education, tourism, services, minimisation of costs in the production stage, etcetera. Action 4: awakening public opinion of French local authorities. Cités Unies de France, Ville de Suresnes and Betton Montenegro Association had spread news about these activities and had to find other towns and local authorities interested in participating in the programme. Action 5: the persons responsible for the LDAs should follow, during two months, the implementation of the first stages of the action plan offering technical assistance, drafting reports and coordinating the actors involved.

The Centre de Formation Professionnelle et de Promotion Agricole de Caulnes was in charge of the first two actions and proposed, in Strasbourg on 18 December 2003, a programme of training and action based on the following principles: ¾ make the trainers and other collaborators move to the Balkans and not the participants move to France; ¾ follow the animators during the establishment of local development working groups; ¾ train the participants to analyse their territory in order to allow the construction of a territorial project. Moreover, at each meeting of the working group, a certain amount of time should be dedicated to a theoretical part and the rest to the discussion about the activities

Chapter 3 implemented in the LDAs, the difficulties met, and the collective analysis of possible solutions. This approach was validated during a meeting which took place in Paris at the MAAPAR56 in February 2004 and which was attended by some representatives of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cités Unies de France, Betton Montenegro Association, LDAs, MAAPAR, and CFPPA de Caulnes). This concept of local economic development based on local actors and strengths has a particular political and institutional approach: it is necessary to engage all political and administrative levels of the community in this process. Therefore, the programme was also aimed at establishing relations with local political representatives, who could influence, through policies, the implementation and encouragement of this kind of development. It also tried to involve civil society, representatives of the banking system, artisans and business men, cultural associations and existing local development agencies. Projects of this kind want to create synergies and to use all the resources of the territory – human, financial, cultural, of know-how and organisation – to foster a long-term sustainable development based of local forces rather than international funds.

3.1.1 The research/action methodology The trainers engaged in the project proposed a research/action methodology made up of different stages: - identifying of local partners and actors of the working groups who are active in the economic and social development process through interviews and questionnaires; - animating the territory in order to foster local actors’ participation through a common strategy. The cooperation between the actors should be based on dialogue, respect for cultural differences and on the participation in the decision-making process;

56 MAAPAR is an abbreviation standing for the French Ministry of Agriculture.

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- specific functions of the working groups, which had to: encourage the protection of cultural and historical heritage, identify weaknesses of the community, foster the development of associations and social organizations, and organize experience exchanges and debates. At this stage, the agreement of all participant is necessary to establish common objectives; - analysis of all information and groups’ work in order to make a draft of the future action plans, which are concrete projects describing in detail all the stages to achieve the final objective and solve problems. The plan could be defined as “a development pact for the territory”.

This methodology wants to create synergies between different territorial elements through: o a critical analysis of strengths and weaknesses in order to identify possible solutions at the local level; o flexible solutions which can be adapted according to different needs; o the relationship between local actors and animators: local actors are the most important interlocutors of animators.

In this context, local animators had to look for complementary elements not only at the local level, but also at the European and international levels and also had to point out elements favouring social cohesion, public spirit and social ethics. In order to grant a well-balanced development, actors represent different categories: local authorities, entrepreneurs, associations, and civil society.

The organizations participating in the project had different roles: - LDAs: principal actors of the project, they were the operational bases for its implementation. - ALDA: coordinated network and partners, organized seminars and analysed information.

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- Cités Unies de France: spread out information about methodology and results achieved. - Betton Montenegro Association: active partner of the LDA Montenegro and of the “French programme”, participated in the research for trainers and in informing French local authorities. - Partner towns (such as City of Suresnes and City of Betton) : contributed with their experience of local development through best practices exchanges.

The programme also provided internal and external evaluations. The internal evaluation should be done through the analysis of : the report on the training sessions (on the quality of trainings and trainers, material used and on the realization of the follow-up) , the reports on the working groups (participants, debates and solutions proposed), the approval and signature of the action plans, and finally the programmes implemented through the action plans. The external evaluation had to be done through a final report (realized also thanks to the contribution of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe) taking into consideration new enterprises, association, training and/or other initiatives created by the action plans.

3.1.2 Expected results Although the results of the project depended on its implementation, on participants’ capacities, local authorities and actors’ cooperation, and on local events and needs, there trainers expected some general results. First of all, the project would increase animators’ capacity of action for the coordination of working groups and local action plans. This animators would remain in the region even after the implementation of the project and could engage themselves in other programmes of this kind becoming a point of reference for local communities. Second, the 11 working groups could reinforce their abilities in the socio-economic development management and could develop synergies between local authorities,

Chapter 3 enterprises, training centres and civil society. Moreover, the actors forming the groups and coming from different contexts could transfer the acquired abilities to their sectors and conceive other economic development initiatives. Last, the Association of Local Democracy Agencies could strengthen its network and its relationship with the LDAs, which could become an active part in the development process of their region.

The project is expected to produce a medium and long-term impact on socio- economic situation of the regions where it was implemented. It could be considered as a training element for actors and for the realization of economic initiatives. Another objective of the programme is to transfer the management of local economic developments projects to local institutions and organizations in order to foster their institutionalization; that is why there were some actors coming from the institutional environment. The project also provided the publication of its results: a directions manual in English, French and in local languages, the report of working groups’ meetings, 11 action plans, 11 reports of technical assistance, a final report of the project, and a website operative during the implementation of the programme.

3.2 The implementation of the programme

From April 2004 until January 2005, 4 seminars took place: 1. Seminar in Zavidovici, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2. Seminar in Rozaje, Serbia and Montenegro 3. Seminar in Umag, Croatia 4. Seminar in Ohrid, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Concerning the choice of the participants, each LDA had to choose 1 to 3 persons, who would then become the local development agents of the Agencies. The choice depended on education (an education in economics was preferred), interest in this

Chapter 3 kind of programmes, knowledge of English and strong sentiment of citizenship. In the end, the group was varied: representatives of local authorities, students, citizens, representatives of Associations, and entrepreneurs.

The two trainers who followed the project were: Mrs Geneviève Salaün, trainer in charge of training methodology and international co-operation Mr René Caspar, territorial development expert and Professor at the Ecole supérieure d’ingénieur en agriculture de Purpan – Toulouse. He participated in some missions abroad of the EU, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the French Ministry of Agriculture.

The seminars were in French, but a consecutive translation was granted into Serbo- Croatian; on the contrary, the written documents were in English.

Before the beginning of the seminars, the animators proposed a document to the LDAs in which a presentation of the programme of the different seminars and a preliminary work were proposed in order to alert the participants about the methodology employed and to produce a dynamic within each LDA. This first step was aimed at creating, in each LDA, a working group, at defining the territory in which the work would have been realised and at collecting and studying the existent data about the territories interested in the project. Not surprisingly, this territorial approach and the concept of local development working groups were new elements in the methodology of the Agencies and in the working methods of the participants; therefore, the Agencies did not prepare this preliminary work or, in some cases, only a draft creating a first working group and beginning a list of the existent documents and data.

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3.2.1 The Seminar in Zavidovici, Bosnia and Herzegovina The first seminar of the programme took place in Zavidovici on 19-21 April 2004. Nineteen people, coming from the different LDAs, were present in Zavidovici: - Kerim MEDJEDOVIC, Delegate LDA of Nicšić – Montenegro - Ismet SKENDEROVIC, Project Manager - City of Rozaje, Montenegro - Srdjan KOVACEVIC, Project Assistant LDA of Osijek - Croatia - Sinisa MAURUS, Project Assistant LDA of Osijek - Croatia - Umberto ADEMOLLO, Deputy Delegate LDA of Verteneglio/Brtonigla - Croatia - Tullio FERNETICH, Delegate LDA of Verteneglio/Brtonigla - Croatia - Sonja BOGELJIC, Office Assistant LDA of Sisak - Croatia - Aleksandra MAKRIC, Centre for entrepreneurship and development – Bosnia and Herzegovina - Goran RODIC, Project Assistant volunteer “PREDA” - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Anel ALISIC, NGO Familija, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Amir LJUBOVIC, Project Assistant LDA of Zavidovici – Bosnia and Herzegovina - Armin KESEROVIC, LDA of Zavidovici – Bosnia and Herzegovina - Avdil ALIJA, Manager - Kosovo - Abdil HALIMI, Manager - Kosovo - Nehat RAMADANI, Gijlan Municipality - Kosovo - Vesna PRCIC, Local coordinator LDA of Subotica – Serbia - Laslo HORVAT, City of Subotica – Serbia - Svetlana MILOJEVIC, Centarzaprava – Kragujevac, Serbia - Ivica ILIC, Programme Assistant Educational Centre - Serbia

The objectives established by Mrs Salaün and Mr Caspar for the first part of the programme can be resumed as follows:

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• To create a cooperative working group in order to stimulate a co- production and a co-training between the Agencies, thanks to exchanges and contacts between them. This objective was achieved easily and rapidly and one of them proposed to become the creator and animator of a forum for debate. For some participants, it was their first time abroad and the first meeting with people from the other countries of the former Yugoslavia and, therefore, a very constructive experience. • To work on the concepts of local development and territory. During the seminar, the process and dynamic to create and the identification of actors concerned by the local development were stressed. Some time was also dedicated to the identification of the most important elements of the territory and to the instruments to use, such as analysis of data, surveys and interviews. • To reflect upon the role and the position of the animator of local development. Thanks to a collaborative reflection, the participants defined what an animator should not do and his/her behaviour towards the citizens, elected people, actors of the territory among others and discussed about his/her legitimacy.

During this first meeting, the participants realised the complexity of enlivening a territory. The exchanges between them concerned the role of the State, development, and the necessity of participation of all the territory actors in the process. Moreover, the theme of information and awareness of actors, citizens and elected people was at the centre of the debate. The trainers made the participants aware of the importance of a correct use of the data at their disposal and of the creation of a strategic matrix, which is the most important instrument to analyse the potentialities of a territory and to conceive a project for it. The participants were required to reply to a questionnaire about the first meeting; in general, they were satisfied with the organization of the seminar and

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thought that they had well introduced the themes: the definition of local development, the historical background of the local development, the concept of territory and the methodology of territory’s diagnosis and, finally, the building of a strategic matrix. Rather all declared that they had the tools for analysing their territory and building the matrix and the majority of them had already carried out some analyses of their territories. Some of them proposed to study in depth the methodology of the project, how to create a network of actors and to adapt the training for Balkans’ conditions and asked some more examples, not only based on French experience; they also proposed to establish a strong communication among the participants during all the implementation of the programme and to get more material before the following seminar to allow a deeper preparation.

At the end of this seminar, Mr Caspar and Mrs Salaün established the participants’ work for the following one: to collect useful data to conceive a strategic matrix and to think about some possible proposals for the territory development. The principal steps proposed to achieve this objectives were: To set up the local action groups around the figure of the animator and to define their objectives and the attended production: an action plan for the territory. They were also supposed to define their relations and the subdivision of tasks taking into consideration that the core of the local group must remain the same during the implementation of all the steps of the project. To inform the leaders and the citizens of the territory when the group was formed in order to ensure transparency. Animators are supposed to be easily recognized and citizens should be able to get in touch with him/her rapidly and easily. To produce a pre-study document to be presented during the second seminar in Rozaje – Montenegro - containing all useful elements studied during the first encounter concerning the territory and its analysis.

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To give the animators a logistic help, as long as the territory in which the action groups worked was that of the Local Democracy Agencies.

3.2.2 The Seminar in Rozaje, Montenegro The second seminar took place on 21-23 June 2004 and 16 persons were present, coming from: - Kerim MEDJEDOVIC, LDA of Nicšić – Montenegro - Ismet SKENDEROVIC, Project Manager - City of Rozaje, Montenegro - Sinisa MAURUS, Project Assistant LDA of Osijek - Croatia - Umberto ADEMOLLO, Deputy Delegate LDA of Verteneglio/Brtonigla – Croatia - Crisitna VOJIC, Assistant LDA of Verteneglio/Brtonigla – Croatia - Goran RODIC, Project Assistant volunteer “PREDA” - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Anel ALISIC, NGO Familija, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Amir LJUBOVIC, Project Assistant LDA of Zavidovici – Bosnia and Herzegovina - Aleksandra MAKRIC, Centre for entrepreneurship and development – Bosnia and Herzegovina - Avdil ALIU, Manager - Kosovo - Nehat RAMADANI, Gijlan Municipality - Kosovo - Tinde DENC, City of Subotica – Serbia - Laslo HORVAT, City of Subotica – Serbia - Ivica ILIC, Programme Assistant Educational Centre – Serbia - Keceski MILE, LDA Ohrid – the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - Nikoloski NICOLCE LDA Ohrid – the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

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The representatives of the LDA of Ohrid, who were not present at the first seminar, rapidly joined the group with no particular problems. In this seminar also participated Mr Yves Arnaud of Betton Montenegro and two representatives of the French Embassy in Podgorica, Mr Jonathan Lacote and Mr Rodolphe Courepied.

The objectives established by Mrs Salaün and Mr Caspar for this meeting were: • To state the situation concerning the collection of data about the territory, the establishment of the local development group of each Agency and its functioning, its relations with elected people, media, and politicians, and the awareness of people about this project. Some points emerged from the debate: - The local development groups formed were, in general, too homogeneous (they should have been more varied in order to analyse the needs of different people and areas); - Their work was often additional to the work of local authorities and municipalities; - Some groups ran into difficulties in the use of media; - Some groups ran into problems in the collection of data because of their obsolescence and their difficulty of access; - Some groups presented a very specific sectional analysis but not a global analysis of the territory; - Some groups proposed some projects without having analysed the territory sufficiently; - In general, all the groups were formed, they began the collection of data and their information campaign addressed to the population, but the results varied a lot from one Agency to the other depending on the territory and on the local political and social context.

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• To analyse the territory in detail insisting on the strategic matrix and its construction. The trainers proposed some examples of strategic matrix and, through a practical exercise, the groups reflected together upon the usefulness of this instrument. • To propose a first presentation and reflection upon the concept of sustainable development and its consideration in the elaboration of a project for the territory.

The group was very cohesive and interested in the cooperative work. One participant underlined the importance of a common work among the citizens of the different countries which formed the former Yugoslavia. The majority of the participants entered into the methodology of the programme and demonstrated a good progress in the use of the instruments suggested by the trainers. The participants treated of the following subjects: creation of local working group, analysis of the territory, information addressed to the local authorities, population, and elected people. At this stage, the LDA of Gjilan/Gnjilane and the LDA of Ohrid had still many activities to implement: informing local authorities, stakeholders and population and preparing the diagnosis of the territory concerning capital, activities, economy, culture, history and modernity. In the case of Kosovo, this delay was due to the events of March 2004, which destabilized the region. Also the LDAs of Verteneglio, Sisak and Nikšić still had some activities in progress. In general, the other Agencies had prepared the documents and conducted the enquires requested to go on with the implementation of project.

For the meeting in Umag, Croatia, on 18-20 October 2004, the trainers set the participants the following tasks: A complete analysis of the territory (history, economics, society, culture, activities) with a relative document establishing the target.

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30 to 50 interviews (based on a model distributed during the seminar) with people coming from different social groups (farmers, politicians, entrepreneurs, etc.) in order complete the data and to understand their precise perception of the territory in which they live. The construction of the strategic matrix. The elaboration of three scenarios studied during the second seminar: - Scenario 1: if we do not do anything - Scenario 2: perspective - Scenario 3: starting from the strategic matrix At each stage (elaboration of a target document, construction of a strategic matrix, and presentation of a scenario constructed starting from the matrix), the groups had to inform the population in order to stimulate a debate on the documents prepared. Before the following seminar, the participants had to draw up a table to establish the state of the project.

3.2.3 The Seminar in Umag, Croatia The third meeting of the programme took place in Umag57, from 19 to 21 October 2004. The following Agencies participated in the seminar and were welcomed by the LDA Verteneglio: - Kerim MEDJEDOVIC, Delegate LDA of Nicšić, Montenegro - Ismet SKENDEROVIC, Project Manager City of Rozaje - Montenegro - Umberto ADEMOLLO, Deputy Delegate LDA of Verteneglio – Croatia - Cristina VOJIC, Assistano LDA of Verteneglio - Croatia - Goran RODIC, Project Assistant volunteer “PREDA” – Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Anel ALISIC, NGO “FAMILIA” – Bosnia and Herzegovina

57 Umag is a village near Verteneglio/Brtonigla, Croatia.

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- Sonja BOGELJIC, Office Assistant LDA Sisak – Croatia - Amir LJUBOVIC, Project Assistant LDA Zavidovici – Bosnia and Herzegovina - Aleksandra MAKRIC, Centre for entrepreneurship and development - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Alma MORIC, LDA of Mostar - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Maja PEHAR, LDA of Mostar - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Srdjan KOVACEVIC, Project Assistant LDA of Osijek, Croatia - Sinisa MAURUS, Project Assistant LDA of Osijek, Croatia - Svetlana MILOJEVIC, Centarzaprava, Kragujevac, Serbia - Keceski MILE, LDA of Ohrid - the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - Nikoloski NICOLCE, LDA of Ohrid - the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - Zoran MARKOVIC, LDA Kragujevac - Serbia

The composition of the group changed a little bit compared to the preceding encounter. First, the Local Democracy Agency of Gijlan could not participate in the meeting because of the elections which were taking place in the country in that period. Second, the LDA of Subotica had other activities at the same time and could not postpone them. Finally, the Local Democracy Agency of Mostar, created in September 2004, joined the group. The two representatives of this new LDA had already received the material and documents prepared and discussed during the two preceding encounters and had collected some data about their territory as much as they could. After a day of adaptation necessarily to make them understand the approach proposed by the trainers, they joined the activities and worked with the other participants.

The objectives established for this session by the trainers were:

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• To state the situation concerning the collection of data about the territory, the establishment of the local development group of each Agency and its functioning, its relations with elected people, media, and politicians, and the awareness of people about this project. They also wanted to analyse the strategic matrix proposed by each group.

During this stage of the meeting, the participants talked about the questionnaires: some agencies conducted a lot of interviews, some others less depending on the local situation. Although all of them admitted that it was an important research instrument, it was a long, complex and sometimes risky work. In fact, the LDA of Sisak decided not to make interviews at that moment because the only functioning enterprise of the area stopped working in September and the consequences were an increase in the unemployment rate and the aggravation of the economic situation. This exchange between the participants and their co-productive work is one of the strengths of the programme because it allows them to compare theirs problems and choices at the local level and to find solutions to common problems and difficulties. It remains that the effectiveness of the local development programmes depends largely on the local context, which sometimes is very complex. Three LDAs had some difficulties because the working group was still too detached from the territory and the information did not reach the population and elected people sufficiently even though the analysis stage had begun well. Moreover, the strategic matrix of two LDAs allowed the group to underline anew the different stages of construction of a matrix and the role of the different elements.

• To give the theoretical and methodological principles necessary to build some scenarios for the territory starting from the strategic matrix and to think about a possible project for the territory.

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This stage was realised through the strategic matrix proposed by a LDA and a concrete example of a reflection upon the kind of tourism that could be developed in the Pyrenees region. The participants worked on this subject subdivided into different groups and later discussed and established some principles for the use of the matrix and for the construction of scenarios and projects. In general, the participants understood the importance of a previous analysis of a territory in order to realise a project which can suit the economic need of an area with no contradictions. They also understood the importance of the sustainability of a project and discussed about a possible and efficient way of managing very different projects coming from different countries: how to guarantee the harmonious coexistence between these programmes which sometimes are very different in their aims and means? The conclusion about this important question was that if the region had a long-term development plan approved by local authorities and elected people, it would be simpler to integrate all different project proposals in the global development of the region. The participants also proposed to talk about the funding of projects in the following seminar.

• To think about the following seminar and the follow up of the programme. Each LDA engaged itself in the preparation of a specific project for its territory, and in particular in writing the first stage, in order to present it during the following and last seminar in Ohrid, whose subject had theoretically to be the funding of projects. The participants of the group demonstrated their will to meet again and to have a follow up of the project. They also established a document stating their progress and someone proposed to go to France to work on a territory in order to have an example and meet the local actors.

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3.2.4 A first assessment of the project achievements in November 2004 On 15 November 2004, all the Agencies had already formed a local development working group and informed the local authorities and the population about the project. The goals reached did differ according to the Agencies as their work depended, locally, on: the personality of local actors, the legitimacy of animators in the territory, the date of birth of the Local Democracy Agency and its reputation, and, last but not least, the local context which could be stable or not. The established objective for the following seminar was the production of a project for the territory. This result implies the necessity to move the local actors in the territory and this is a very long process. The most important things are the consideration of the territory needs through an attentive analysis and the involvement of local actors in order to create the necessary dynamics to implement the project. Concerning the single LDAs, the one in Kosovo did not prepare the documents required and had many difficulties to communicate through the internet, although its participants were very active and present during the first two seminars. These difficulties were given by the political and social tensions due to the recent elections and the political instability and especially to the unresolved question of its status. The LDA of Subotica did not send the documents after the end of the third seminar and did not participate very actively in the meetings. On the contrary, the LDA of Verteneglio caused a strong implication of the local authorities and inhabitants, although its formalisation level was very low. As long as my thesis will focus, in particular, upon the projects of the LDAs of Osijek, Nikšić and Gjilan within the Programme of Local Economic Development in the Balkans, you will find here two paragraphs concerning the work done by these Agencies between January and October 2004. I chose these three Agencies because I think they represent different economic and social situations of three different Balkans countries and also because these LDAs were founded in different moments: LDA of Osijek in 1993, at the beginning of the programme promoted by

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Chapter 3 the Council of Europe, LDA of Montenegro in 2001 and LDA of Kosovo in 2003. As explained before, the LDA of Kosovo could not carry on the project because of the social and political troubles which concerned the region last year. The following and final chapter will focus specifically upon the economic and socio-political situation of these three regions and will try to highlight their problems and perspectives thanks to the questionnaires proposed to the Delegates. The fourth chapter will also try to understand how did the project of Local Economic Development find a place among the activities of these three Agencies, what was the outcome of it and eventually the problems arisen; it will finally try to draw a conclusion about the effectiveness of this project and of the ALDA methodology in general.

3.2.4.1 LDA OSIJEK58 The fourteen people who made up the working group came from different organisations and were trained by Mr Srdan Kovacevic and Ms Sinisa Maurus: 1. Ružica Kadić, AIESEC Osijek 2. Vedran Kotrba, AIESEC Osijek 3. Emanuel Starčević, Agencija za informiranje 4. Gordana Podolar, Poduzetnička mreža Bilje 5. Hrvoje Sandukčić, BIOPA 6. Marija Jurčević, Osječki zeleni 7. Jean-Pierre Maričić, BIOS Osijek 8. Sandra Filipović, Agencija za razvoj 9. Ivica Štefanić, Tehnologijsko-razvojni centar 10. Stanko Zdravčević, Zajednica seljaka Slavonije i Baranje 11. Damir Vuletić, Buga - entrepreneur

58 For any further information, see pages 5 to 7 of the Interim Report January – October 2004 of the project Local Economic Development in the Balkans sponsored by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, written in December 2004.

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12. Domagoj Štefan, Grad Osijek 13. Igor Kaluđer, Optimalica - entrepreneur 14. Mr.sc. Saša Lamza, Buga - entrepreneur

During the first meeting of the working group, the members were informed about the main aims and activities of the project. All the members seemed interested in the programme proposed. During the following meetings, discussions about different visions of development took place and these argumentations and confrontations formed the basis of the documents presented during the Seminars in Rozaje and Umag. The working group conducted the interviews stage in order to involve a wider number of people in the process of gathering relevant information. The questionnaires did not, and could not, give a complete vision of prevalent attitudes among the people of the region but tried to collect relevant information and impressions as much as they could. The questions in which the person was asked to express his/her own opinion were eventually aimed at revealing some new information or giving a fresh idea on a certain topic. Twenty people were interviewed according to five types of questionnaires, each one aimed at one of the following groups: agricultural population (3 people), NGO activists (6 people), local government officials (4), entrepreneurs (1), and students/youth (6). Due to the size of the territory, all the publicity activities were performed through the media. The journalists showed a great interest in the programme and, therefore, it got space in both local newspapers (such as Glas Slavonije and Osječkidom) and in the most important local radio, Radio Osijek. The LDA got the attention not only of the media but also of the local self-government, informing the Vice-Mayor of the city of Osijek and several members of the City Parliament and of the County Parliament.

The LDA stated that there were no serious problems during the implementation of the project. However, some issues re-emerged on several occasions and caused

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Mr Miljenko Turniški, Delegate of the Local Democracy Agency of Osijek, presented the results of the research, which could be resumed in two scenarios. 1. Continuing scenario. It resumed the most relevant negative elements of the region which can constitute serious obstacles to development: - In general, there is no coherent vision of development and the public is often sceptical towards development initiatives. A fragmented approach to development remains pervasive: various subjects and their initiatives are not co-ordinated and thus inefficient in facing development issues. Often, time and resources are wasted and problems remain unsolved. - Partners in development activities should start to perceive each other as competitors. - Despite the increase in living standard, public attitude remains pessimist. - The exodus of talented youth increases and the brain-drain process reduces the capacity of local governments to receive national and international development funds. Moreover, a negative selection continuously affects the quality of higher education and public management. - Political bickering prevents co-operation on issues of mutual interest. Consequently, uncertainty brings people away from “development- friendly

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- Expensive transportation infrastructure remains under-exploited due to slow economy and grows obsolete.

2. Positive scenario. Although the situation presents some negative elements, it is also characterized by many positive factors: - The region has a well defined identity. - There is a coherent vision for the development of the region and it is well communicated to the population. - Each sector has a clear vision of its own development, which is compatible with the others. A special care is taken to integrate various economic sectors (tourism, agriculture, industry, trade and financial services). Time and resources are invested in intra and inter-sector networking. - Various actors in the region are working on development and their efforts are co-ordinated and self-reinforced. - Transportation infrastructure (roads, railroads, rivers and airports) fosters the development of the regional economy, in particular of tourism and trade. - Agriculture is the most important sector: agriculture is reformed and oriented towards highly profitable cultures; the production is synchronised with the tourist season on the coast and there are sufficient supply chains. The region capitalises on high-quality agricultural soil. Agricultural growth is supported by specialised banks and its profits are re-invested in processing capacities. - Thanks to the banks shift of their focus from consumers to entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial climate grows and people risk more. - Industries based on know-how and technology and the third sector are developing rapidly. - Demand for houses rises; thus, the construction sector grows.

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- New interregional markets are emerging thanks to the political stability of the region. - Osijek, the centre of Slavonia, grows into administrational centre of the DDS Euroregion.

3.2.4.2 LDA NIKSIC59 The working group of the Local Democracy Agency of Montenegro was made up of nine people and was animated by Kerim Medjedovic, who is also the Delegate of the LDA, and Ismet Skenderovic: 1. Ismet Skenderovic, animator 2. Kerim Medjedovic, animator 3. Velida Hodzic, NGO “IKRE” 4. Osman Kurpejovic, Director, Cultural Center Rozaje 5. Nusret Luboder, entrepreneur 6. Nusret Husovic, economist, Rozaje Municipality 7. Edin Sehovic, local expert, UNDP 8. Almir Sutkovic, Rozaje Business Centre 9. Sadik Dacic, Cultural Herritage Museum – Rozaje

The working group conducted the SWOT analysis on the territory and constructed the strategic matrix in order to find out its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. With this complete analysis, the group could then elaborate an ideal project for the territory respecting its characteristics and satisfying its needs. Strengths: young population, craftsman-merchant tradition, vast areas under forests, immense natural beauties and preserved environment, richness in pasture and meadows, waste range of forest fruits, good whether, comparative advantages

59 For any further information, see pages 24 to 28 of the Interim Report January – October 2004 of the project Local Economic Development in the Balkans sponsored by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, written in December 2004.

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Kerim Medjedovic, Delegate of the Local Democracy Agency of Nikšić, presented these results and imagined three possible scenarios: 1. Assessment of the current state. According to the strategic matrix, he stated that the territory of the Rozaje municipality possesses forests, water and meadows and is favourable to the development of tourism. However, tourism and agriculture are completely neglected and industrial capacities are exploited for 20% of its potential (only

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primary level of product processing is taking place). The potential of processing industry is much larger than forest potential and there is old technology as well as the share of merchants is disproportionate in comparison to the share of primary sector employees considering the natural potentials and the population structure. In general, the existing economy structure implies disproportion in forming the gross product and national income. The idea of this scenario is to keep the existing situation and to abandon the following parameters: - Low level of production capacities usage - Old and obsolete technologies - Extensive agriculture - No investments in tourism - Poverty and lack of perspectives for the future - Social dissatisfaction - Discontinuity in the supply to the production with necessary basic and supporting material.

2. Ideal situation in the development of the territory of the Municipality of Rozaje: - Living standard increase - Employment level growth - Technical level of production and equipment improvement - National income and gross product increment - Change of production structure in the advantage of higher phases of final processing in industry and agriculture - Change of production structure on the basis of finalized product and thorough usage of local resources - Making operative already existing industrial facilities ( through restructuring) - Activating investments in the field of tourism: a) Ski resort “Hajla” construction b) New infrastructure development c) Activating tourist offer over the whole year d) Hotels “Turjak” and hotel “Rozaje” restructuring and adaptation

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- Amelioration of the level of health and social protection - Larger scale of cultural and sports activities.

Development of the tourist potentials of “Hajla” and “Turjak” hotels and several “katuni” and bungalow facilities in the area of Hajla mountain construction. The second phase, over a period of 10 years, should provide the following investment projects through outside investments: 1. Hajla point – winter tourist resort construction; 2. Bac point – transit tourism 3. Kula point – transit and mountain tourism 4. Ruista – Bisevo point – pic-nic tourism 5. Djakovica – mountain tourism 6. Stedim-Rasulija point - winter tourism 7. Beleg point – summer and winter tourism

The measures needed to be taken in order to reach this scenario are: - Meteorological data for all the localities collection; - The area photometric scanning; - New economical hunting and fishing basis construction; - To investigate the water quality for potential exploitation; - To investigate mineral waters for the purposes of medical tourism; - To establish a basis for pronouncing National park “Turjak – Hajla” and make an effort to join the National park “Prokletije” project; - To realize the “Botanical garden” project; - To establish “Ecological Research Centre”.

3. The middle one. The situation is in between of the two other scenarios. For the Municipality of Rozaje area, this is the vision of development priorities: - Reducing the processing capacities in wood processing industry and privatise “Gorni Ibar”; - Improve forests protection;

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- Explore the mineral waters potentials and offer the concessions for theirs’ exploitation; - Improve the quality of the roads infrastructure maintenance and sewage system and collector construction; - Open market model promotion; - Agricultural sector development especially farming, red berries and healthy food production (cheese); - Create the plan for buying off the forests fruits and reconstruct existing cooling facilities; - The development should be based on tourism development and in following order: a) Rural tourism; b) Eco tourism; c) Health tourism; d) Research-scientific tourism; e) Picnic tourism; f) Alpinist and “katun” tourism.

This order was chosen due to the lack of financial resources and the estimate is that, through these forms, the biggest effects would be attained with the least investments. The priority for Rozaje in next 3 years should be the extension of existing tourist facilities. The basic idea is to provide more thorough and complete existing development factors valorisation and usage. Branch development would mean that the selection of leading growth branches is to be done in which is fair to expect the fastest and biggest gross product and national income increase. In that sense priority branches are: final products industries (wood processing, agricultural and farming products, healthy food production, meat and farming products processing), tourism (hotels, restaurants, family and rural pensions, etc.) and agriculture. Regional approach involves development complementary and correlation with regional and national development strategies. Standardisation strategy and brand introduction means EU standards introduction and implementation. Local economy policy has to involve Rozaje trademark introduction with distinctive characteristics of Rozaje.

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Cooperation and complementarities involve full cooperation of all key subjects with special attention on agro-tourist sector, sector of forestry and wood procession. In order to reach above mentioned, it is needed to ameliorate the existing and build new base infrastructure facilities in mountain and rural areas which should enable rural population to stay in their areas and prevent from country – city migrations. Since big industry does not exist any more, the chance for life should be provided outside urban areas too. Advising, training and investments should be provided to the passive areas in order to establish balanced infrastructural and economical development. The approach should be to enforce current entrepreneurship and to establishing entrepreneurial structures, specifically in small and medium enterprises. Nothing of this is possible without foreign investments. The ambient for attracting and implementing these investments should be created through shorter and easier procedures in local administration.

3.2.4.3 LDA VERTENEGLIO/BRTONIGLA60 This project was followed by the Delegate of the LDA, Mr. Tullio Fernetich, the vice-Delegate, Mr. Umberto Ademollo, and by Ms. Cristina Voijc, these last two persons being the animators of the working group, made up of representatives of various entrepreneurial and institutional categories: 1. Entrepreneurs from the restaurant industry 2. Entrepreneurs in the agriculture field 3. Hotel entrepreneurs 4. Entrepreneurs in the “agro-tourism” (rural tourism) field 5. Local authorities in the tourism field 6. Municipal authortties

60 For any further information, see pages 24 to 28 of the Interim Report January – October 2004 of the project Local Economic Development in the Balkans sponsored by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, written in December 2004.

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7. Commercial entrepreneurs.

During the first meeting the Local Democracy Agency presented the Programme objectives and desired final results to the working group.

In the second meeting, after each member of the working group had interviewed and listened members of respective categories on the territory, they reached out the global definition of the initiative. Thanks to geographic and historical features of the territory and agricultural and tourist trends, there were not particular problems or conflicts in establishing common objectives and instructions: all participants agreed in developing the project in the wine field as long as wine is the leading sector for Verteneglio and the rest of the region. The working group conducted the SWOT analysis on the territory and constructed the strategic matrix in order to find out its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. With this complete analysis, the group could then elaborate an ideal project for the territory respecting its characteristics and satisfying its needs. According to the working group, the economic structure of the territory and the development guidelines are relatively clear. The territory taken into consideration measures roughly 40 km² and has less than 2000 inhabitants. It is situated in the Northwest part of the Croatian peninsula. It is about ten kilometres from the border with Slovenia and less than 40 kilometres from Trieste, Italy, with whom we shared an important part of recent history. The territory of the municipality is touched by the Adriatic Sea and it is surrounded by municipalities that are the most developed in the tourist field at national level. Verteneglio’s population represents 1% out of the total inhabitants of the Istria Region and produces 10% of the regional wine production. Verteneglio is the only Croatian municipality member of the Italian National Association “Città del Vino”. In the Master Plan of tourist and regional development of Istria, approved in 2004, Verteneglio was appointed as a wine and rural tourism centre. As long as tourism and wine are the leading sectors, the LDA of Verteneglio decided to proceed in the same direction with the “French Programme”.

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The working group tried to analyse strengths and weaknesses of the region: Existing structures have a great potential to increase the development of products and foster conditions to become well-known both at national and international level, considering the geographical position close to the border with the European Union. The region has high quality agriculture products and above all raw materials and sea products of superior quality such as fish, truffles, meat, Istrian ham, vegetables, unique pot-herbs among others. The problem is that, although the quality of products is very high, quantities are not sufficiently relevant for international markets. Wine, as already mentioned, represents the key sector of Istria together with tourism. The restaurant industry sector is at an intermediate level. There are not many tourist structures in Verteneglio’s municipality but it is situated in the middle of a tourist district of great importance: 35% of the Croatian tourism is realised in Istria and the North-eastern part of the peninsula, where Verteneglio is situated, represents an important gastronomic destination. In the definition of development strategies, local authorities have to consider traditions and the potential of human resources working everyday in Italy but living in Croatia, who do not pay contributions and do not participate in local social life and development process. The major problem is the lack of synergies between different subjects of the territory. A good producer does not have the financial strength or managerial capacities sufficient to promote its own activity on the global market; hotelkeepers face the same problem, surrounded by international bigger sector enterprises. Another problem is that small wine producers cannot organise and afford their own selling point inside their small enterprises. All local entrepreneurs are aware that today it is not sufficient to be a good farmer or hotelier, the product has to be sold; in this global market they have to distinguish themselves and to be recognised. Therefore, in order to succeed, they need means and “know how”. Typical products have to be valorised, protected and diffused from a quantitative point of view, but this requires important costs for these small economic actors of the territory. The creation of a brand, auto-regulation in qualitative standards, valorisation and

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After various analyses of negative and positive sides typical of the territory, the working group drew the attention to the establishment of a structure connected to rural and agriculture tourism, which is a sector with great potentialities. In order to strengthen it, it is necessary to involve farmers, wine producers, hotelkeepers, managers of commercial activities as well as entrepreneurs from restaurant industry, for the rediscovery, classification and valorisation of typical products of the territory. The aim was also the realisation of a structure defined as “cultural structure of the territorial history”, that is the establishment of a wine museum, where all the stories concerning agriculture and history could be included. In particular, the group took into consideration a structure suitable for the realisation of that museum which could be called “vintage rustic art”, an old watermill belonging to the municipality of Verteneglio representing the synergy between the public and the private, the intention and the main goal of the project. The centre would have the goal of protecting the memory and rural traditions, as well as helping entrepreneurs through legal advices, intermediation in sale activities, territorial marketing, establishment of societies for the protection of typical products, permanent exhibition of regional products, establishment of quality brands, organization of professional courses for different categories, protection of the territory and support of the biological agriculture. The general aim is to promote and valorise the quality of life creating a synergy of action between entrepreneurs and institutions for this common sake. The LDA of Verteneglio decided to act inside the municipality boundaries as long as it did not know financial resources of partners funding the project; during the meetings, the working group imagined three possible scenarios:

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1. First scenario The first scenario, which existed in the past, could be the one leaving the single sectors and entrepreneurs developing thanks to their single capacities. It should be said that this possibility founds yet some support as cooperativeness in these territories remembers often cooperatives - largely present - that were simply the extended hands of the state in the two past decades. In this context, for some years yet, the best and most dynamic entrepreneurs could find some advantages, but individual efforts necessary to sustain them in the market would be prohibitive. In this scenario, smaller entrepreneurs have no future. Certainly, this model would favour the growth of new foreign enterprises in the territory with the only goal of finding human resources at low costs and local people would continue to look for a job abroad. This scenario would also bring to the lost of traditions and territorial peculiarities.

2. Second scenario This scenario concerns the establishment of a vineyard of big proportions in which converge the larger part of territory products. Undoubtedly, it would be managed by sector professionals with proper know-how who would produce and sell good products in significant quantities for a larger market. Producers would be small shareholders, while the larger part of the capital would come from a bigger sector enterprise or more probably from abroad, as long as the interest for this territory is remarkable. If on the one side their image abroad would have some benefits, on the other side different territorial realities and peculiarities - small family enterprises producing, selling, protecting and enlivening the territory - would disappear. The tourist attraction could be reduced.

3. Third scenario This is the one mentioned above, the one that the LDA supports. It is the only way to go through economic difficulties and challenges, it is the one to lean, support, follow and help to overcome confrontations with the market. All the initiatives and

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3.2.5 The Seminar in Ohrid, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia The last Seminar of the programme took place in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, more precisely in Ohrid, from 17 to 19 January 2005. During this last meeting 16 people were present coming from the following LDAs: - Kerim MEDJEDOVIC, Delegate LDA of Nicšić, Montenegro - Ismet SKENDEROVIC, Project Manager City of Rozaje - Montenegro - Ivica ILIC, Programme Assistant Educational Centre – Kraljevo, Serbia - Umberto ADEMOLLO, Deputy Delegate LDA of Verteneglio – Croatia - Cristina VOJIC, Assistano LDA of Verteneglio - Croatia - Goran RODIC, Project Assistant volunteer “PREDA” – Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Sonja BOGELJIC, Office Assistant LDA Sisak – Croatia - Amir LJUBOVIC, Project Assistant LDA Zavidovici – Bosnia and Herzegovina - Aleksandra MAKRIC, Centre for entrepreneurship and development - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Alma MORIC, LDA of Mostar - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Maja PEHAR, LDA of Mostar - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Srdjan KOVACEVIC, Project Assistant LDA of Osijek, Croatia

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- Sinisa MAURUS, Project Assistant LDA of Osijek, Croatia - Svetlana MILOJEVIC, Centarzaprava, Kragujevac, Serbia - Keceski MILE, LDA of Ohrid - the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - Nikoloski NICOLCE, LDA of Ohrid - the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Unfortunately, the LDA of Gijlan, Kosovo, and the LDA of Subotica, Serbia, could not implement the project and renounced because of their difficult local situation, especially the one in Kosovo.

The principal objective of this seminar was to sum up the situation of the LDAs projects and to verify their coherence in relation to the analysis of the territory previously done. • First, an example concerning the French Liouron Valley, in the Pyrenees mountains, was analysed. The trainers underlined once again the importance of a preliminary analysis of the territory, the construction of possible scenarios, the expected evolution in the medium and long term, and the definition of projects to be implemented, in order to understand how to articulate the analyses of the strategic matrix and the project and to verify if it is coherent or not. • Second, the trainers and the participants analysed the project proposals of each LDA, normally short-term projects in a long-term context, paying particular attention to the legislative, administrative, and political obstacles and tensions.

The instruments proposed were: - A table of analysis of the projects in order to identify the project itself, its origins and causes, its administrative context, its planning, and eventually its relations with other projects in the territory. Each participant applied this

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table to his/her project and a work in small groups allowed them to test the results and, eventually, to modify the projects. - A second table was used to study the coherence of the projects in relation with the analysis of the territory. Each participant made his/her analysis and gave the trainers a copy of it. - A third table concerned the durability of the projects. The most important concepts were reminded and the participants presented their thought about it and their projects.

In general, the participants worked together actively and thought about the projects in a rather critical but constructive way. The work which seemed the most complicated to them was the construction of the table concerning the coherence of their project; this stage obliged them to put their projects directly in relation with the analysis of the territory, that is to say with real needs and problems of the area. Although this process was a little bit long and sometimes difficult, it allowed the participants to eliminate inconsistencies. Another important debate concerned the way of considering other projects already operating in the same territory, implemented by NGOs, international organisations or local authorities. How should these programmes be considered in a global vision of the area and in a global project for the territory? How could local authorities, partners, and civil society participate in the process?

The projects presented by the Local Democracy Agencies for their respective areas were conceived in the short-term and concerned different subjects: - Establishment of an advising and supporting office for the creation of local companies; - Development of rural tourism; - Development of agriculture through the training of farmers and funding of micro-projects at the local level; - Creation of web sites for the promotion local companies.

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These project showed different levels of elaboration and complexity but, in general, they all demonstrated a good work in analysing the territory and relating it to the project.

After these four stages of theoretical principles, practical exercises and discussions in groups, two proposals for the follow up of the programme were announced: 1. To follow each LDA in a personalised way. The idea was to send two persons on mission to each agency to state the implementation of the programme, validate the results and meet the local actors (twice for 3 days in 18 months). One person should be one of trainers or an expert of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the other an animator of the territory or a representative of the French local community. 2. To organise two meetings of the group of local development animators twice a year. These encounters should be aimed at furthering the exchanges of best practices, comparing experiences, theoretical and methodological approaches keeping in mind the importance of the durability of projects. 3. To organise a stay of one week in France for the Balkan local development animators in order to meet the actors and analyse a different reality (possibly in the regions of the trainers, that is Bretagne or Midi-Pyrénées).

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PRINCIPAL STAGES OF THE “FRENCH PROGRAMME”

1. TRAINING FOR THE ANIMATORS OF LOCAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

1.1 Meeting for the planning and coordination of the programme. 1.2 Identification of the animators for local development actions. 1.3 Training for the animators chosen.

2. ANIMATION OF THE TERRITORY: ESTABLISHEMENT OF 11 LOCAL WORKING GROUPS ANIMATED BY THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE WORKING GROUPS

2.1 15 people for each LDA coming from local authorities, business, associations and civil society. 2.2 three meetings of two days for each LDA – best practices exchange

3. DRAFTING AND FORMAL SIGNATURE OF 11 ACTION PLANS FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

Established on the basis of a research and study carried out by the participants on the socio-economic situation of their regions.

4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DRAFTING OF REPORTS AND COORDINATION OF ACTORS

4.1 Done by the LDAs during the implementation of the first stages of the programme

COORDINATION AND PROMOTION BY THE ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL DEMOCRACY AGENCIES DURING ALL THE PROGRAMME (WEBSITE) SENSIBILISATION OF FRENCH LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND OF THE NETWORK OF THE LDAs TOWARDS DECENTRALIZED COOPERATION DURING ALL THE PROJECT BY: CITES UNIES DE FRANCE, VILLE DE SURESNES AND BETTON MONTENEGRO ASSOCIATION.

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4 TRYING TO DRAW A CONCLUSION

4.1 The current situation of Montenegro, Kosovo and Osijek regions

The Association of Local Democracy Agencies and the LDAs are contributing to the development process of the region according to their means. As explained in the first part of this work, ALDA and the LDAs’ focus shifted, with the end of the war, from crisis management to democratic reform, with an emphasis on promoting tolerant and trust-based relationships within communities. From the beginning, ALDA’s method has been to partner with community experts and municipal representatives and to use local efforts to meet local needs. LDAs, which have extensive autonomy to respond to local needs, support community-based institutions with training and other information services, promote intercultural dialogue, and foster the development of civil society. Other projects include economic revitalisation, refugees, education, environment, youth, culture, and media. In studying the project “Local economic development in the Balkans”, funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I deemed it necessary to prepare two questionnaires for the three Agencies that I decided to take into consideration for my analysis of the project. In the preparation of the questionnaires I proceeded as follows: first, I studied the socio-economic and political situation of Kosovo, Osijek region and Montenegro; second, I prepared a questionnaire for each Agency with specific questions about their socio-economic situation; third, I prepared a questionnaire concerning the project subject of this work, trying to understand its strengths and weaknesses and to draw a conclusion about the methodology

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employed in this project and, in general, by the Association of Local Democracy Agencies.

4.1.1 The current situation of Montenegro61 Mr. Kerim Medjedovic has been and still is the Delegate of the LDA Montenegro ever since 1 April 2004. Before accepting this position, he had already worked for some NGOs, as training Consultant in “Montenegro Consultancy Program” of USAID/ORT, and as Program Coordinator, Capacity Building Trainer and Project Manager for some other projects. He finally agreed to become the Delegate of the LDA because this gave him the possibility to work on democracy building and he could bring his professionalism and experience to the Agency. At that moment, the situation of the LDA was not at its best: there were only two operating projects (and four waiting for funding), one person was full-time employed and five were part- time, the LDA was short of money and had scarce public visibility, poorly developed policies, low-skilled people involved, and no partnerships with media, institutions, or other Montenegrin NGOs. According to Mr. Medjedovic, the war had great economic consequences, the infrastructures were practically inexistent, and many Montenegrins emigrated - especially minorities such as Bosnians (about 45,000 according to the Census of 2003). Today, the most important problems are corruption, organized crime, and the poor institution functioning – especially the judiciary system. At the beginning of the 1990s, all communist companies stopped working because of the bad management of the socialist regime and the Government became the biggest “enterprise” and the biggest “employer”. The grey market flourished, oil, tobacco, and other illegal goods but also common products were imported illegally from Albania. The unemployment varied from 30% to 65% and people worked in the street or in the illegal market dreaming of getting a secure state job. In the last few years, almost all state-owned companies have been privatized with various results:

61 For the complete version of the questionnaire, see the annexed documents, pages 181 to 192.

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some of them have been closed, some others are working good and making profits, but the way in which this privatization has been carried out is rather questionable. Today, there is a raising number of domestic and foreign investors who are starting new businesses thanks to the more friendly environment: banks lend much more money, Government is creating an encouraging fiscal and financial environment, and stability is evident. Yet, the market is not functioning really and many enterprises are protected by the State and have not a clear administration; moreover, many people are going back to the countryside and the uncontrolled imports lower national prices (Montenegro imports practically everything). The major problem is that there is no state policy or national consensus about the strategies and directions of Montenegrin economic development from which priorities and actions to encourage development could be obtained. The only sectors rather well defined are tourism, agriculture, wood processing, and services (transport mainly), because they represent the most important sectors of the Montenegrin economy together with raw aluminium, iron and steel industries and some other metals industries. The agricultural sector is starting to grow but uncontrolled imports lower prices; there are many chicken and turkey-farming, sheep-breeding and fish production; moreover, processing industries which produce milk and dairy products, smoked meat, canned fish and fruit juices are developing. The economic sector which draws major attention nowadays is tourism. According to the “Strategic Framework for Development of Sustainable Tourism in Northern and Central Montenegro: Roadmap for Development of Wild Beauty”62, this kind of tourism will be the leading sector in the coming years, but its potential is, at present, underexploited because of the unclear future of Serbian and Montenegro Union. Mr. Medjedovic agrees with this document’s view and thinks that this sector has a great potential thanks to the varied natural resources (landscape, seaside, beaches, mountains, rivers, lakes) and to the cultural and historical heritage. For these reasons, foreigners coming to visit Montenegro can enjoy all the benefits of more adventurous and

62 Inman C., (draft), UNDP 2004.

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“less pampered” tourism; furthermore, inhabitants’ hospitality63 and lively night life, tradition and experience in this sector and a professional and educated personnel are some important characteristics for its development. The obstacles are the difficulty of access, bad roads, only two small airports, old infrastructures, a not satisfying advertisement abroad and a tourist product insufficiently developed. This sector could recover partly the Montenegrin economy if it were connected efficiently to other sectors such as natural food production, cultural events, transport, sea and road efficient connections, with good governmental policies and political stability. The Government should be faster in adjusting and developing detailed policies in order to encourage small tourist companies - such as family hotels, restaurants, and agricultural tourism - to operate; it should also lower taxes and return properties, expropriated during the communist rule, to families. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development recently declared that the economy of the Balkan region augmented significantly and estimated its growth at 6,5% in 2004. According to Mr. Medjedovic this estimation is likely to be real as privatization is going on and investments are increasing, but he also stresses that there are some important problems, such as unemployment and the emigration of young people, who dream of finding happiness in Western countries. Another critical question concerns the freedom of press and of media: while on paper, Montenegro is one of the most liberal countries of Europe, de facto the limited funding obliges all media to reach unhealthy compromises with the main political powers that undermine their independence64. The Government, with the help of NGOs, should take care of young people and civil society in general, because these are fundamental elements for local economic development. In the following years, the priorities are the skills development, institution and democracy building, detailed

63 Sasportas V., Le perle dell’Adriatico, Madame Figaro, published in Italy by Internazionale, 15-21 July 2005, N° 599 Anno 12. 64 Komnenic P., Informazione Dipendente, Monitor, published in Italy by Internazionale, 17-23June 2005, N°595 Anno 12.

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policy making, pilot projects implementation for gaining experience, and exchange visits with Western countries in order to favour best practices. It should also be considered that the 2006 Referendum will probably be a turning point in the Montenegro and Serbia’s future because their citizens should decide, by the autumn 2006, whether to opt for a functional federation or functional separation as the current Federation is not functional and only has an international representative value. In the view of the Commission on the Balkans65, the democratic future of Serbia is key to the progress in the region.

4.1.2 The current situation of Kosovo Mr. Stève Duchene is the Delegate of the LDA of Kosovo since its foundation in February 2003. Before becoming Delegate, he had worked for different French organisations in Kosovo since 1995 and had prepared the creation of the LDA since 2002; the partners of the LDA did naturally choose Mr. Duchene to be the official representative of the Agency. The project for the creation of an LDA in Gjilan/Gnjilane - Kosovo - began in 2001, when Mr. Duchene, as President of the French Association “Kosovo Ensemble”, had organised a visit to France – and in particular to the Council of Europe - for a delegation of representatives of the Municipality of Gjilan/Gnjilane. On that occasion, they met Ms Sylvie Affholder66, who was very interested in the work of “Kosovo Ensemble” and in the engagement of Gjilan/Gnjilane representatives in the reconstruction of inter-ethnic relations. After some meetings with the Director of ALDA – Ms Antonella Valmorbida – and thanks to Ms Affholder’s support, a project for an LDA in Kosovo was conceived and later put in a concrete form through the European Voluntary Service of Mr. Duchene to Gjilan/Gnjilane. Since the opening of the Agency, many programmes have been implemented despite the difficult socio-economical and political

65 The Balkans in Europe’s Future, April 2005. 66 In 2001, Ms Sylvie Affholder was a representative of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe and worked with the Association of Local Democracy Agencies.

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situation. From a financial point of view, the most important programme has been the one funded by the Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and concerns youth. From the point of view of people involved, the major programme was the Trans-frontier Forum of Kumanovo and from a strategic perspective is the integration and accompanying of the Association of Kosovo Municipalities to the Congress of Local Regional Authorities of Europe. All these projects presuppose beforehand a political work and an activity of lobbying local authorities, the Association of Kosovo Municipalities and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe. In general, the LDA of Kosovo prefers to implement programmes involving inter-ethnic dialogue and youth rather than economic projects because of the presence of international organisations since the end of the war. As with the other Delegates, I asked Mr. Duchene to explain to me the present situation of Kosovo from a political, economical and social perspective. I formulated my questions after having read some articles that the Delegate gave me; he answered in a very exhaustive and painstaking way. I will resume his explanation of the current situation in the following pages67.

The economic situation of the region still is rather critical. Between 2002 and 2003, the Albanian Community experienced a rapid growth due to the reconstruction, to the presence of international organisations and European funding and to the Diaspora’s contribution. On the contrary, the Serbian Community’s situation was very negative because Belgrade invited the Serbians of Kosovo to refuse international aid and to avoid exchanges with Albanians. In the last two years, the post-war economic boom has been exhausted, the international aid has become less important – yet, new businesses have been created – and trade exchanges between Albanians and Serbians have started again. Agricultural production has slightly increased, first for their self-consumption and then for sale and export. The main productions are tomato, peppers, and wine,

67 For the complete version of the questionnaire in French, see the annexed documents, pages 193 to 215.

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which is not of high quality but has very competitive prices especially for the German market. Roughly 60% of the population live in the countryside and the agricultural sector has a great potential thanks to the humid soil, which is favourable to the cultivation of cereals and vegetables; moreover, forests are the suitable environment for cattle-breeding. Kosovo is rich in mineral resources: before the war, the mining industry was well developed, and gold, silver, lignite, lead and bauxite ores were important economic resources. Unfortunately, obsolete equipments and Chinese and Brazilian competition hamper the revival of this sector. For both Communities, the most important economic sector is trade: in a municipality like Gjilan/Gnjilane, for example, about 70% of the economic activity is made up of trade and services – especially restaurants. The problem is that production is very weak and Kosovo imports everything and exports very little. The fact that Kosovo imports any kind of goods – cars, food, paper, building materials, clothes, etc. which are not much cheaper than in Western countries – is mainly due to fact that low import duties make domestic products too expensive. In fact, taxes are calculated on the purchase price of the products rather than on their real value and, as goods coming from Greece are seized by societies which lower a lot their real value, the price of imported goods is lower than that of domestic products. According to the Kosovo Institute of Statistics, the trade deficit concerning the period from January to June 2005 amounts to 535,3 million Euro68; fortunately, an important part of the deficit is filled up by the Albanian Diaspora from the US, Germany and Switzerland. People of Kosovo have a great livability, they adapt themselves to difficult situations, and often do things at the very last minute; this behaviour is disappointing for Western people, followers of organization, but is fundamental for people living such a crisis. This is not only a question of need, this is especially a question of culture. Kosovo economic development will be very slow in the coming years and this is due to two important factors. First of all, the absence of a definitive status quo for the

68 Import: 557,5 million Euro, export: 22,2 million Euro.

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region is a serious obstacle to its economic development: Kosovo cannot have a foreign trade policy and, consequently, cannot establish import and export quotas; furthermore, he cannot get loans on the long-term from banks, which are necessary for a sustainable development. Second, there is a shortage of qualified labour due to Milošević’s repression in the 1990s and to the war and, consequently, to the emigration of young people. Despite these two problems, the trade sector seems to be dynamic and competences are increasing thanks to projects on best practices and management. In spite of its political tensions and economic problems, Kosovo economic development cannot be defined as sub-Saharian69 because the region benefits somehow from European economic dynamics. According to Mr. Duchene’s opinion, a comparison could be made with the Irish crisis at the end of Great Britain’s rule: at that time, Ireland was isolated from the rest of Europe, many people emigrated and the Diaspora, together with the political power, was a very important element in the development process which characterised the following years. Mr. Duchene wonders whether this will be also the case of Kosovo as this region is not far from Europe and the Diaspora’s contribution is very important: 300,000 Albanians from Kosovo in Germany, 180,000 in Switzerland, 12,000 in France, 15,000 in the UK, and other communities in Austria, Australia, Italy, etc.. Thirty years ago, Ireland was underdeveloped and it is now one of the most dynamic countries of the EU, why this could not happen again with Kosovo? The hope is that the political power will use international funding in the right way and that the population will participate actively in the development process as long as the international attention is still concentrated on Kosovo. In recent years, many economical projects of international organizations did not have a positive impact because they did not care of social and political causes and consequences, which are directly connected with the economic crisis. Maybe, the most effective programme was the one implemented by FAO concerning the recovery of agriculture through the modernisation of techniques, the amelioration of seeds and quality of the

69 Koha Ditore, Kosovo: un ghetto au coeur de l’Europe?, published on 9 April 2002, and on-line in the Courrier des Balkans website on 29 April 2002.

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production, and the reconstitution of breeding. Some other projects for municipal personnel training and entrepreneurs and best practices exchanges have been implemented, but it is too early to evaluate their impact. However, the most important source of the economic development of Kosovo still remains the Albanian Diaspora, which also provided the UCK with funds during the war. The stagnation of Kosovo economy is rather dangerous for the stability of the region, especially because the other Balkan countries have registered a growth in their economies during the first half of this year. Due to the difficult economic situation and to the problem of the unresolved status quo, Kosovo is considered to be the periphery of Europe: it is very complicated for people to travel and go abroad, to study and to trade at the international level and this gives space to criminality and dissatisfaction of the population. The international community has seriously to engage itself in order to decide what to do: if this region were not integrated in the European Union, it would create serious problems destabilizing all Europe. International organizations and domestic politics should also consider that economic crisis and political instability keep up with social problems: just after the war in 1999, the unemployment rate was 75% of the working population; today, it is about 45%. Although the situation is better than in 1999, this decrease has stopped and young people constantly think about leaving Kosovo to go to Western countries, where they have more chances to study and work. In addition to the lack of work, another important problem is the very bad condition of education: there is a shortage of infrastructures, the University of Prishtina/Pristina is going through an important political crisis, and teachers enjoy a high social reputation but have very low wages; moreover, politicians believe that the economic development will bring a development of the educational system and that education is not necessary as long as there is no work. For sure, the most important social question is the reconciliation of Albanians and Serbs: some time ago, the International Crisis Group70 declared that, despite international community’s efforts, the appeasement of conflicts between these two

70 International Crisis Group: NGO based in Brussels, www.icg.org.

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ethnic groups is still an utopia71 as long as the status quo is not established. This NGO supports the independence of Kosovo with the present borders and excludes the re-unification of Kosovo to Albania or other countries; this independence and clarification of the status quo is fundamental and very urgent in order to grant human and civil rights for minorities and the stabilization of the region. Furthermore, the International Crisis Group believes that the KFOR mission should be re-defined as many Albanians accuse the international community of accentuating the separation of Serbians and Albanians and of blocking their relations and see its mission as an occupation. This NGO regards the integration of the region in the EU as a solution to avoid its isolation. According to Mr. Duchene’s opinion, the mutual understanding of these two ethnic groups is not an utopia, but it will take much time to become the normality. The relations between these communities are, at the same time, good and bad: if we consider their evolution since the end of the war, the general improvement in mutual tolerance and intercultural cooperation is evident; yet, there are still some events and behaviours - such as intolerance, mistrust, and violence - which are unjustifiable, both from Serbs and Albanians. The Serbian community and the Albanian one can cooperate and live together, but there are some obstacles that hamper their reconciliation: first, the wounds of the war and of the tragic events of March 2004 are still open and interfere with the pacification process; second, the appeasement is not possible until when the status quo is established: this is not only a political question, but also and overall a question of identity; finally, the lack of economic development can make the relations worse even if this cannot excuse violence, ethnic hatred and intolerance. The major problem has always been the fact that both communities claim Kosovo because it is considered the birthplace of their civilizations, which are rather different but show, at the same time, many similarities. Probably, the most important characteristic of Balkan peoples is their social structure based on the clan, which is a very strong and

71 Leconte C., Il Kosovo senza soluzioni, Le Temps, published in Italy by Internazionale, 4/10 February 2005, N° 576 Anno 12.

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rigid element in the Albanian society72. The affection for the native village is very profound and the honour is the basis for any social relation. A society based on clans is, of course, the best environment for the development of illicit trade in drugs, arms and whatever else; for sure, governments and Italian mafia cooperate actively in this traffic and apparently the presence of international forces does not hamper illicit activities. The relationship between the two communities varies from town to town, according to war events: in Gjilan/Gnjilane for example, the relations are rather good maybe because this town was less ravaged than the others and the war ended before, or because the UCK was less active than elsewhere, or because Milošević was less interested in this town; it is difficult to establish the reasons of this better cohabitation, but this is proved by the fact the major market of Gjilan/Gnjilane has recently become a multicultural market, showing that Serbs and Albanians work more and more together in the trade sector and often also in the grey market. In Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, on the contrary, the situation is still very worrying. The town is clearly divided into two parts, in the north live the Serbs and in the south the Albanians; this separation was accentuated by the war and people living in Mitrovica are, in general, very radical. Another important reason of this critical situation is that the international forces – KFOR and UNMIK – were not able to manage their task of assisting the communities in their reconciliation process and preferred to keep the two areas completely separated and determined, consequently, a worsening of the mutual trust and respect. The tragic events of March 2004 may be regarded as an evidence of the partial failure of the international intervention in Kosovo. On 16 March 2004, three Albanian children were drowned and Serbs were accused of being responsible for this tragic event. The following day, a protest manifestation was organized by Albanians and the KFOR and the international police intervened to calm down the clash between the communities and unfortunately killed some Albanians. After this

72 In the Albanian society, the fis is the clan and the kanûn is the code of honour, which represent the rules of social relations.

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episode, the protest became, at the same time, a protest against UNMIK and KFOR all over the region; many international experts declared that it had been organized in order to excuse the incapacity of the international community in the governing of the rebellion. As a matter of fact, the protest was spontaneous and the facts are much more bitter: the reasons are not very clear but this manifestation reflected the discontent of people towards the international forces and the economic situation and youth played a leading role in the events. Mr. Duchene underlines that the dynamics of March 2004 are very similar to those governing suburbs: youth dissatisfaction, economic and social problems, demonstrations, intervention of the police, etcetera. Since then, the incidents between the communities have diminished and the situation is much more stable but this does not exclude other possible events of such kind. What is sure is that the international forces have to revise their intervention policy.

4.1.3 The current situation of Osijek, Croatia My inquiry about the situation of the Osijek region is based upon an interview to the previous Delegate of the LDA, Mr. François Friederich, and two questionnaires to the present Delegate of the Agency, Mr. Miljenko Turniški.

I met Mr. François Friederich at the Council of Europe on 13 May 2005. During our meeting, he explained to me in a very exhaustive way what was the condition of the region just after the end of the war, when he accepted to become the Delegate of the LDA of Osijek. Mr. Friederich73 has been a Political Advisor at the Directorate General of Political Affairs (DGAP) of the Council of Europe for the Balkans since 2002 and was Delegate of the LDA of Osjiek from 1995 to 1998, when the LDA programme was at its very beginning, and Director of the Council of Europe Office in Mostar and later in Belgrade from 1998 to 2002. When he became Delegate, the war in Croatia was not yet over and some areas of Osijek were still

73 For the complete transcription of the interview in French, see the annexed document, pages 230 to 247.

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occupied by Serbian separatist troops. The socio-economic situation of the town was disastrous: industrial infrastructures were heavily damaged, occupied or looted by Serbs, often there was no electricity, public services were poor and damaged, people had no work, and, consequently, foreign investors did not invest in the region. In May 1995, the Croatian Army freed some territories from the Serbian occupation except the Vukovar region, which was later placed under the United Nations temporary administration - UNTAES74. The Basic Agreement establishing the UNTAS, contemporary to the Dayton Agreements, aimed at avoiding the Serbian community mass exodus from the Croatian territory75 and at preparing the reintegration of this area to Croatia. UNTAES was set up on 15 January 1996 for an initial period of 12 months, with both military and civilian components, and was later extended until January 1998. The military component was to supervise and facilitate the demilitarisation of the region, monitor the voluntary and safe return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes of origin in cooperation with UNHCR, contribute to the maintenance of peace and security and assist in the implementation of the Basic Agreement. The civilian component was to establish a temporary police force, monitor treatment of offenders and the prison system, undertake tasks relating to civil administration and to the functioning of public services, facilitate the return of refugees, organize elections, assist in their conduct and certify the results. This component also had to undertake activities including assistance in the coordination of plans for development and economic reconstruction of the region, promotion of confidence among residents from different ethnic groups and the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms and cooperation with The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Despite this intervention of the Army, the territory was reintegrated to Croatia only in 1998, when the recovery of Croatian economy began. Although

74 UNTAES: United Nations Transitional Authority for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium. Transitional Administrator: Mr. William Walker, United States. Source: http://www.un.org/Depts/DPKO/Missions/untaes_p.htm 75 In July 1995, about 400,000 Serbs were expelled from the Croatian territory.

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many efforts were made, the economy never took off again completely: The Vukovar harbour on the Danube was never rebuilt and many important firms ravaged by the war were never reconstructed because there were no funds and because these enterprises previously belonged to the State, which did not exist anymore in 1998 – for example, there was an important shoe firm which employed 20,000 people before the war, which has never been rebuilt. The agricultural sector was very prosperous before the war since this region was regarded as the granary of the ex-Yugoslavia: it was an agricultural centre producing wine, cereals and sugar and the agro-industrial sector was well-developed; unfortunately, the war destroyed also this flourishing sector. In general, Yugoslavia exported a lot to the other socialist countries but these countries, while Yugoslavia was ravaged by the war during the 1990s, knew the democratisation process and opened their markets to Western capitalism accepting foreign investors and, therefore, accelerating their economic development process. Yugoslavia lost its intermediary role between the West and the East and lost, at the same time, its leadership in many markets and many opportunities to develop, which the new Balkan countries cannot find again because of their small size and political power. Furthermore, they are living the transition process from socialist to capitalist economies, which entails the reorganization of the productive structure and factors in the industrial sector as well as in agriculture. The privatization process is going on in all the economic fields and agriculture has started again and is trying to diversify its production in order to respond to a larger national and international demand. At present, the most developed areas are Istria and the Dalmatian Coast - thanks to tourism – and the Zagreb region - thanks to its proximity to Hungary and Slovenia, which joined the EU last year. Even though the amelioration of the economic conditions is evident, Croatia has still a long way to go. When Mr. Friederich became Delegate of the LDA in Osijek, the war was not yet at its end and obviously the priority was not economic development but rather humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees and reconstruction. At the very beginning, international funds were directed to the reconstruction of houses – since

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thousands of people were living in refugees camps - and infrastructures, such as water mains, electric installations and roads, in order to allow people to live in acceptable conditions. It is only just after the overcoming of this first critical period that international attention was drawn to economic problems: the industrial and agricultural sectors were almost completely destroyed, capitals lacked and there were no foreign investors; moreover, the socialist economic system had to be transformed into a capitalist one and the grey economy flourished during this unclear immediate post-war period. Simultaneously, the Local Democracy Agency of Osijek and its partners started some micro economic projects in order to help people to set up an activity: together with a Professor of Economics of Osijek, the LDA conceived a system of micro credit which lent people about 10,000 Euro - a system which had been introduced in Europe a short time before – and assisted people in the organization of an activity also thanks to the cooperation with Italian and Swiss partners which could bring their know-how. Some successful examples can be: the set up of some bakeries in the Vukovar area - which produces wheat and meal and where there was an important industrial bakery destroyed by the war – and those people who participated in the programme are still running their activities; some wine producers of the Veneto region participated in a project of best practices exchange to teach Croatian producers some modern techniques and sometimes offered machines, tools and equipment – this exchange of experiences was later followed by some investments and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) funded new cultures and the modernisation of the sector; the set up of a chicken farming in Pakrac; finally, some Swiss partners taught some Croatians how to produce cheese offering them a training near Lausanne – these people, back to Croatia, started an activity. At the beginning, all these activities were very modest and implemented at the local level and were the result of the cooperation between different associations and NGOs and municipalities, towns and regions of Western countries, they were never the outcome of international organisations or governmental projects. The LDA of Osijek also conceived some programmes of trans-border cooperation with the

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regions of Novi Sad, Subotica, Vojvodina, Tuzla, and with Hungary, the last being an important incentive for Croatian development and a way towards the EU. In general, the major obstacle was the opposition of local authorities: many Croatian politicians were extremist and regarded the work of the LDA and of other NGOs as a danger for the independence of Croatia and accused them of being “Yugo- nostalgic”76. They controlled the telephone of the Association and menaced Mr. Friederich, who wrote some articles for a local weekly revue commenting and analysing local events. Despite the declarations of politicians, the freedom of media was very limited and fortunately this situation changed with Tudjman’s death and with the membership of Croatia to the Council of Europe. Although Croatia is going through an important development process, it has still a long way to go to find again the previous life style and to join European standards.

Mr. Miljenko Turniški77 is the present Delegate of the Local Democracy Agency of Osijek since 2001 and accepted this work because he was already involved in the LDA’s activities. Before becoming Delegate, he had worked for a private company as Marketing Manager and had run, for some time, his own activity. In 2001, as long as the LDA had already been working for 7 years, the main areas of its activities had been established; consequently, Mr. Turniški continued in the same direction and gradually adjusted the work of the Agency and developed new programmes in accordance with local needs. In that period, the consequences of the war were still visible – and still are – in socio-economical terms, in particular infrastructures and buildings were ravaged by the war, the unemployment rate was very high and people’s safety was very low as many fields had not been cleared of mines and have not been cleared yet. Although many changes have taken place in the last 10 years, the economy is very slow and Croatia is reaching nowadays the production level of the 1990s, before the war. Obviously, the regions destroyed by the war are much slower in the development process – especially economic – than the other parts of

76 This is a translation of the French expression yougo-nostalgiques. 77 For the complete version of the questionnaire, see the Annexes, pages 216 to 225.

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Croatia and are underdeveloped; however, their situation is better than other parts of the former Yugoslavia, such as Kosovo, where there are daily national problems with different ethnic groups, living standard are much lower and the future is not at all clear and predictable. The economic development of Croatia is insufficient, but it has great potential and possibilities. The most important sectors are agriculture, ship building, wood and food processing industry, tourism and also petrol industry. In the agricultural sector there is not a good strategy, there are too many small farms which are unsustainable and unprofitable and farmers have not a proper education in terms of entrepreneurship. Industry is in transition as the whole society and the State; it is necessary to provide this sector with new technologies and new investments to foster its recovery and development. Croatia imports many products: food, medical equipment and technology, furniture and also weapons. Concerning tourism, on the coast it is well developed and organized and this allows a rapid flow of money and the modernization of the area; on the contrary, in other parts of the country it is not developed yet but has a great potential thanks to natural environment, cultural heritage and traditional food. Nowadays, the Government’s strategy seems to go towards rural and agricultural tourism development and sustainable tourism as long as this sector would foster employment, diminish emigrations and help the development of other sectors connected with tourism such as agriculture, environment protection and modernization of infrastructures. In the upcoming years, the leading sectors could be agriculture and tourism helped by the strategic position of Osijek, located on the crossroad linking up Eastern and Western Europe and Northern and Southern Europe as well as on the way to Asia. According to the Delegate’s opinion, the most important actions that should be undertaken in order to grant a sustainable economic development are a better privatisation process (as until now it was not at all satisfying), a careful attraction of investments based on decisions and precise concepts, more investments in education and a more structured support to small and medium business; it is very important that Croatian Government moves towards a sustainable kind of development. In the most recent

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years, a few investments in banks, telecommunications and tourism took place thanks to Government policies and programmes. The economic situation is improving in different fields and, according to some statistics, Croatian economic growth in 2004 was 5% and is clearly visible in infrastructures (especially roads) and in the economic structure (there are much more local entrepreneurs). Up to now, foreign direct investments are not numerous although there are some advantages for such investments, especially if they are located in free economic zones which are developing in Croatia. One of the major problems that the country is facing is unemployment; even though it is decreasing slowly – especially in summer when a part of unemployed people find a job in tourism – it is still at 17-18%, which is rather low if compared with the rate of other Balkan countries. Young people are primarily concerned with this problem because the situation requires more and more personal effort and initiative; many young people prefer to go abroad to find a better future. Since he became Delegate, Mr. Turniški implemented intercultural and trans-border cooperation programmes which were also connected with economy and the socio- political situation; at present, they are implementing a local economic programme which involves entrepreneurship and youth and some projects providing informal education. There are a few organisations in the region performing expert and technical activities connected to the preparation and realization of local economic development programmes such as the City Agency for Development, Business Incubator Technological Development Centre, Local Economic Development Agencies among others. For the Delegate of the LDA of Osijek, the priorities of the region are education - especially related to EU matters, agriculture and tourism development and small entrepreneurship; Croatia needs clever, well-educated, responsible and of good morals people in order to succeed on the local level as well as on the European level.

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4.2 The “Local economic development in the Balkans” project and its local impact78

The second step of this study on the ALDA’s project “Local economic development in the Balkans” was to propose to Mr. Medjedovic, Mr. Duchene and Mr. Turniški another questionnaire79 concerning their satisfaction with the programme and with ALDA’s methodology; I also proposed this questionnaire to the Local Democracy Agency of Verteneglio/Brtonigla to have an additional opinion. I asked them to give a definition of local economic development and to tell me what were the strengths and weaknesses of the “French programme”. This section will analyse in detail the Delegates’ answers and will try to understand what ALDA could ameliorate and strengthen in its methodology.

4.2.1 The LDA of Montenegro Mr. Kerim Medjedovic defined local economic development as “people together with others – governments, banks, educational institutions, etc. – working for their better life standard”. In his opinion, the actors of this process are citizens – but not alone – and the most important factors “moving, animating people, involving many stakeholders by providing them with tools and skills and making connections”. For Mr. Medjedovic, this project was his first one in the economic development field and was assisted, during its implementation, by the Employment bureau and Local Business Centres of Rozaje. He thinks that the relation between the economic development at the local, national and international levels is important because actors of different kind can learn from each other, support and help one other, exchange information, and develop policies together; obviously, this relation can have an impact on the outcome of a local development project through the

78 To see the project proposals prepared by the LDA of Montenegro, Osijek and Verteneglio within the “Local economic development in the Balkans” programme, see the Annexes, pages 271 to 294. 79 For the complete version of the Delegates’ answers, see the annexed documents, pages 181 to 229 .

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governmental policies carried out, investments, moving of people, and experience exchanges. Mr. Medjedovic chose to participate in the project because he wanted to establish a new programme within the LDA’s strategic orientation, specifically in economic development, gaining knowledge and experience. The main objectives for the Agency were three: - to make an analysis of the territory and to identify a specific project together with relevant local stakeholders; - to strengthen the partnership between the LDA Montenegro and the local partner, the City of Rozaje; - to establish a new programme within the LDA’s strategic orientation, especially in economic development, gaining know-how and experience. The general objective for the region was to animate citizens and various stakeholders in order to foster local economic development. According to Mr. Medjedovic’s explanation, the programme and the topic were exactly what the area needed. The subject and the methodology – the approach, tools and trainers employed – were new and represented the strengths of the project and, at the same time, will be some of the strategic areas of the future work of the LDA Montenegro. On the contrary, the duration of the project was “classical”, that is to say approximately one year, as many other projects of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies. Although Mr. Medjedovic appreciated a lot these aspects of the programme, he was not completely satisfied with it for the reasons explained as follows: • the methodology was simple, but sometimes it was not transferred by the trainers to the participants in the most comprehensible way; this was due maybe to different ways of interpreting trainings or to the high level of competence of the trainers; • the methodology was not completely adjusted: there were too much lectures and too little practice; furthermore, literature and materials were not always easy to understand;

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• it was difficult to implement because the Delegate was in Podgorica and Nikšić and the project was implemented in Rozaje, 170 km away; the co- animator figure was not the best choice for this programme; • It was difficult to animate because natural partners in the field - local staff dealing with the same issues - considered the LDA as a rival and tried to hamper its activities; another problem is that the only thing people expect from these programmes is “ready” money and often do not understand that the positive outcome of such activities comes later; • The communication between the LDA and ALDA was too weak and slow (from both sides).

Despite all these obstacles to the implementation of the project, Mr. Medjedovic thinks that this methodology could be used in all areas of Montenegro on condition that: ¾ more resources are dedicated to such projects; ¾ the person in charge and working on the project comes from the area involved and is supported by an outside expert; ¾ one person of the ALDA staff devotes himself/herself fulltime to the project.

Another important aspect of this kind of projects concerns the evaluation process: Mr. Medjedovic answered me that the only evaluation protocol he has, is the one that he prepared himself and is a basic one. The quantitative evaluation of the project is measured through the number of participants and meetings and the number of questionnaires; the qualitative analysis is included in the methodology and concerns the participation of representatives and stakeholders; finally, the evaluation of potential projects is normally done by animators and by the Mayor of Rozaje. He stressed the importance that an evaluation protocol prepared by ALDA and common to all the Local Democracy Agencies should be very important. He also added that there is great need and potential for this kind of projects in the field

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and that more resources should be dedicated to this. Furthermore, he thinks that the methodology should be diversified and many different activities could be matched in order to satisfy all kinds of need: animation, education, exchanges, study visits of municipal representatives, experts and businessmen, and cooperation with other institutions involved in similar activities such as UNDP, USAID, Employment Bureau, and Governments.

4.2.2 The LDA of Kosovo As introduced before, the LDA of Gjilan/Gnjilane was opened in 2003 and presents a very complicated situation compared with those of the other Agencies. Mr. Stève Duchene tried, through the two questionnaires, to give his interpretation of facts and of the failure in Kosovo of this programme conceived by ALDA. Before going on with the description of the project implementation with its strengths and weaknesses, it is useful to understand how the Delegate of the LDA of Kosovo conceives local economic development. Mr. Duchene defined local economic development as a strategy which aims at fostering development and the creation of businesses through the study and the improvement in human and technical means of production as well as in the distribution of products and services produced. The most important characteristics of this kind of development are the involvement of new actors, who normally do not participate in this kind of activities, and its territorial dimension, emphasized through the development of the local network of actors and enterprises which allows a mutual development of activities. Furthermore, local economic development should support human development, the improvement in working conditions and in unemployment, and the protection of environment, in a few words has to foster a sustainable kind of development. The principal actors of local economic development are: enterprises, schools, research centres, municipalities, Government/State, and institutions concerned in the economic development (for example the Chamber of Commerce). All these actors act together in a local network and the link between these elements represent the most relevant factor of

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this kind of development. Civil society is fundamental in this development process: in Kosovo, 100% of the actual economic development is the result of the involvement of civil society as long as neither government nor municipalities have the mission and the funds of creating enterprises and businesses. When we talk about “civil society”, we do not only refer to NGOs and to the participation of common people in the decision-making process, but we also refer to the creation of enterprises, businesses and other activities. At the local level, the economic development of Kosovo is deeply linked with the question of the unresolved Statute and also with human and technical resources; at the regional level, it is profoundly linked with the political stability of the Balkans, with the communication lines connecting the region with Western Europe, and with the regional electricity production capacity. At the European level, Kosovo economy is connected with German, Italian and Turkish economies, but also with the presence of the Albanian Diaspora in Western Europe. Finally, Kosovo economic development is also linked with world economy as long as political and economic events at the international level can influence a lot the policies of international organizations and aid and, therefore, Kosovo development process. The economic development of a region depends on the relation between all these levels of economic development and Mr. Duchene stressed the importance of their interrelation. According to Mr. Duchene’s opinion, international organizations, NGOs and the LDA should concentrate their efforts on the definition of Kosovo Statute, which could successively bring a relevant economic development, because without a clear definition of it, no one would invest in the region. The general aim of this project for the LDA and the field was, theoretically, to work on local economic development through a pilot project based on a participative methodology, which tried to involve local population in the realization of an analysis of its territory and, later, in the implementation of the project. In fact, this was the objective that the Association did expect the Agencies to implement. Normally, the LDAs are not obliged to participate in a project, but in that occasion it was not very clear as long as the force of the LDAs and of ALDA is the fact of being a network

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and, therefore, of acting together. The participation of the LDA of Gjilan/Gnjilane in this programme was influenced a lot by this unclear situation; probably, if the freedom of choice had been clearer, the LDA would have decided not to participate since in Kosovo there are many important economic development projects funded by international organizations. Although this project was good for other situations and towns, it did not fit very well the reality of Kosovo because of its specific problems. The LDA participated all the same in the programme despite the responsible for the economic sector of the Municipality of Gjilan/Gnjilane expressed a negative advice about the implementation of this project. The methodology employed was comprehensible and, according to Mr. Duchene’s opinion, was classical if compared with other foregoing projects of the Association. On the contrary, for the LDA of Gjilan/Gnjilane the methodology and the subject were completely new since the Agency had been created just a year before; now, the LDA does not work on this theme any more and normally the methodology employed is different according to the projects implemented. Although the project and the methodology were probably suitable for the other Balkan regions, this was not the case for Kosovo, which experiences a very particular situation: there is an important lack of experience in the civil society, due to its underdevelopment during Tito’s era and its apartheid in the 1990s, during which schools did not function. Consequently, local economic development projects need to be implemented over a long-term period and need to be accurately followed over a period of, at least, 3 years. International organizations implementing these projects should dedicate themselves only to this kind of activities and should ensure an effective follow-up in order to assist civil society in the local development process. Mr. Duchene, Delegate of the LDA and responsible for this project together with the responsible of the agricultural development of the Municipality of Gjilan/Gnjilane, is not satisfied with the project because it was not suitable for the area: • the social and political situation is still critical.. The revolt of March 2004 highlighted a very complex situation and political instability; therefore, all the

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projects of the LDA were re-organized in order to face the situation. Moreover, legislative elections were organized and the collaborator from the Municipality of Gjilan/Gnjilane could not assist the Agency anymore. Working in Kosovo is much more complex than working in Croatia, where the political stability and security have already been acquired. Maybe, ALDA should have been more careful to the understanding of the situation especially in relation to social and political consequences; • in the economic field, there were already many initiatives which had no positive outcome; furthermore, it is difficult to evaluate immediately their positive results especially in relation to the huge programmes – from the point of view of the budget – of international organizations, such as USAID and UNDP; • the methodology was good – even if some improvements can always be brought – but the programme was too brief and the follow-up too slight; this kind of programmes would need a daily and long-term “custom-made” follow-up; • the relations between ALDA and the LDAs were not very effective from both parties and, maybe, the Association should have asked the Agencies for a previous opinion about the needs of the different regions - however, we cannot take for granted that all the Agencies would have participated actively in the conception of the project. Also the LDA of Gjilan/Gnjilane has not handled its relationship with ALDA very well, partly due to the difficult situation of March 2004 and of the following months.

Despite all these problems, Mr. Duchene believes that the basic idea of training local people through the strategy of the territory analysis and of making them participating in the conception and implementation of an economic project can be very fruitful and effective. In addition to that, the combination of theory and practice granted the learning of know-how and principles and was very stimulating for the participants.

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Mr. Duchene would not change many aspects of the methodology used by ALDA for this project, but in general he believes that, in order to be more specific and effective, ALDA and the LDAs should specialize in a few sectors according to local needs. When an Agency intervenes in a vast territory – as in the case of Kosovo – its work should be very specialized and foreseen in the long-term; the risk of implementing, at the same time, many projects in very different sectors is a waste of resources and time and a less effective outcome. Therefore, it is counterproductive to implement a project that does not respond to local needs; when a project is conceived, it is important to ask oneself why and if it is the right one as regards the situation of the area. Probably, this multi-sectorial approach could fit well to the other Agencies, which work in a town and not in a big territory, but not in Kosovo, where only a Local Democracy Agency is present and its priorities are intercommunity dialogue, trans-frontier cooperation, youth and support of the Association of Kosovo Municipalities. Effectively, the most important activities implemented by the LDA of Kosovo concern these priorities together with the preparation of the period which will follow the definition of the Statute. However, the LDA participated in the organization of a training in the economic sector - whose results cannot be evaluated yet – and of a visit of some local entrepreneurs to some industrial fairs in Belgium, France and Switzerland, in the context of the LDA’s support to the learning of French. This study-visit was very fruitful because the entrepreneurs got some ideas for new businesses, some contacts for buying raw materials and equipment for production, contacts with some European enterprises and potential foreign investors, but did not obtain subsidized credits or contacts with buyers; practice – such as these small initiatives – is often much more effective than theory. Even though it was not the only actor in this project, the LDA contributed to the creation of some new economic activities in the region. Concerning the evaluation of projects, the Local Democracy Agency of Gjilan/Gnjilane does not have an evaluation protocol yet; the set up of the Agency is still too recent to establish a unique strategy of action. Normally, the evaluation is carried out project by project in collaboration with the partners of the projects or

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following some models; up to now, the Agency has never used an external evaluation even though it is rather common for international organizations in the region. For the projects of the Association, the evaluation is carried out on the basis of ALDA’s principles. Probably, for this specific project, an external evaluation would not have changed its results, but an external evaluation concerning ALDA’s methodology and action could be very useful to understand what could be ameliorated.

4.2.3 The LDA of Osijek From Mr. Turniški’s point of view, local economic development is “a development based on sustainability using and at the same time seriously protecting local potentials, attracting green field investments and strongly investing in formal and informal education of local stakeholders and people. It should also take care of all elements of local identity”. The most important factors of this kind of development are people, local existing resources, infrastructures, national policies and some global trends; its actors are local stakeholders. Civil society is important within this process because helps people in their self-organisation and tries to meet their needs providing some solutions not offered by the State or the private sector. The relation between the economic development at the local, national and international levels is important since there are more and more trends which cannot be controlled only by local stakeholders and also because can influence the positive outcome of local economic projects through the exchange of know-how, technologies and intercultural relations; however, this relation can also influence negatively local development. Nowadays, local economic development represents one of the priorities of the Balkans and especially of Croatia since it has reached a quite stable socio-political situation. The Delegate of Osijek chose to participate in the project because its topic corresponded exactly to local needs and was conceived after an assessment and prioritizing of LDAs’ necessities on the spot. The general objective for the region was to stimulate and promote local economic development in the City of Osijek and

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its region, while the specific objective for the LDA was to educate trainers in this field in order to provide multiplying effects in the area. Mr. Turniški thinks that for ALDA the objective was similar as long as it takes care of local economic issues and elements important for local stability, development and democracy. Subject, methodology, and duration were all new for Osijek since the action of the Agency had been concentrated, up to this project, on human rights protection and reconciliation; when the LDA reached some important improvements in the most urgent domains, it could expand its field of action in local development. In general, the project did not encounter problems during its implementation although at the beginning people had different expectations and understanding of the programme. According to Mr. Turniški, the strength of the programme is the fact that the topic was relevant for the Osijek region and the successful result depended on the mutual cooperation between ALDA and the LDA. The Delegate, responsible for the project together with the two trainers, is satisfied with it because it is what the region needs and thinks it is a good direction for future programmes of ALDA and the LDA. The only remark he made concerned evaluation: in general, projects are evaluated internally through questionnaires, media coverage and number of participants by trainers and participants, but this evaluation method could ameliorated to improve the effectiveness of programmes.

4.2.4 The LDA of Verteneglio/Brtonigla The specific objective of the project for the LDA of Verteneglio was the identifying of an area or a building to locate a Wine Museum, a structure telling the cultural and rural history of the region. Through the “French Programme”, the LDA tried to involve local authorities – without excluding private societies – in the funding and realization of the Museum; the Delegate, the vice-Delegate and the local tourist agency were engaged in it and work together for its achievement. In Mr. Ademollo’s opinion, the successful outcome of this project will increase the value of the territory and its features, will have positive effects on the public image of the Local Democracy Agency and the region will take advantage from an economic and

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cultural point of view. According to Mr. Fernetich and Mr. Ademollo – Delegate and vice-Delegate of the LDA - ALDA had the objective of presenting the project to the Agencies situated in different regions of the former Yugoslavia; the LDA could then decide on implementing or not the programme. In the case of Verteneglio, the project corresponded to local needs and its implementation was right because civil society’s requests would be satisfied in that way; civil society is the key element because of its tie with history and culture of the territory. The subject was rather new for this Agency, as well as its methodology. Speaking of its strength, it was represented by the fact that the subject corresponded to local needs and the successful outcome of the project, as well as its failure, depended on the drawing up realized by the LDA rather than the general project conceived by ALDA. In this kind of activities, the relations between the Association and the Agencies are marginal as long as the first one proposes an intervention and the second one has the choice about its carrying out. Taking into consideration the evaluation process, it is standard and is conceived by the people involved according to the type of project and includes different steps: research, identifying, communication, local needs, costs and funds, local authorities involvement, working groups for project conceiving and realization. Mr. Fernetich and Mr. Ademollo are satisfied with this programme because it will encourage cultural tourism. However, they think that, from the point of view of the methodology, an important change should be undertaken: project proposals should come from the Agencies and not from the Association as long as the Agencies know what are local needs, which can differ enormously from an Agency to another. In this reasoning, the Association would examine proposals and would submit them to the attention of partners, local authorities and other possible financing bodies in order to obtain funds for their implementation.

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4.2.5 The project according to Ms. Antonella Valmorbida, Director of ALDA80 Ms. Antonella Valmorbida started her career as Press Officer and collaborator of an International Commission of Solidarity at the Association of Municipalities of the Veneto Region and in 1996 became the Delegate of the LDA of Sisak , whose establishment was the outcome of this International Commission’s work. She contributed to the foundation of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies and when it became real in 1999, Ms. Valmorbida was proposed for Director of the Association because of her approach to it: she supported an Association representing, first of all, its members through an “open-minded” approach, that is to say not limited at the Council of Europe. The general methodology of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies is based on a multilateral decentralized kind of cooperation. At the international level, the decentralized cooperation involves Local Authorities and associations, which work together on development projects; in the case of ALDA, they work on democracy building and human rights protection in the Balkans. It is a multilateral cooperation because many subjects (local authorities, associations, NGOs) work together with the Local Democracy Agencies, establishing a common strategy and their course of action in order to attain a certain objective. A few years ago, during a brainstorming session which took place in Montenegro, LDAs followed a management training and pointed out their priorities; this encounter made it clear that there were also two indirect priorities: local economic development and European Union’s themes. The project on local economic development funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs resulted right from this meeting. The Association of Local Democracy Agencies conceived this programme in cooperation with the Agencies and the French training centre “Centre de Formation Professionnelle et de Promotion Agricole” of Caulnes - already working in Montenegro – which brought its know how and experience, all this in accordance with long-terms priorities of ALDA putting forward local economic development,

80 For the complete transcription of her interview in Italian, see the annexed document, pages 255 to 261.

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established during the Assembly General in Subotica in 2003. For the Association, local economic development is based on the means of the community in a certain territory; the population must be aware of its human, territorial and organizational resources and should work in order to professionalize them and to identify its priorities making the most of the synergy between all these resources. In contrast with a development imposed on a territory by external organizations “ignorant” and disrespectful towards local needs, the kind of development fostered by ALDA tries to become part of a local context without damaging the local balance. The objective of the “French programme” was to give the Agencies some instruments in the field of local development in order to allow them to manage their resources and activities as they preferred. All of them accepted to implement the programme even if they were not obliged by the Association. ALDA’s responsible for this project was Mr. Martial Paris81 and the responsible for each Agency was its respective Delegate or someone experienced in the local economic development field chosen by the staff of the Agency. According to Ms. Valmorbida, a previous study on economic needs of each region had been carried out and was one of the requirements for the realization of the project. The objectives were rather clear and were not too ambitious: they did not want to change everything but rather wanted to train the Delegates and local actors giving them the chance of working together. The Director of ALDA cannot say, at present, if the project represented and satisfied the needs of civil society as long as people often expect immediate responses and solutions to their problems and often do not understand that the outcome of the LDAs and international organizations’ action is not so immediate but rather based on the long-term impact. However, she thinks that objectives have been reached. The subject of the project is not new in the Balkans as in other parts of the world but the risk is that these regions could deal with the difficult economic situation in an unrealistic way; for example, a delocalization cannot be realized without infrastructures such as roads. The length of the programme was one year, which is

81 For Mr. Paris’ explanation of the project, see paragraph 4.2.6.

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rather classic for ALDA’s projects, and allowed only the creation of basic instruments for the future work of the Agencies; that is why the Association is trying to obtain an extension of the project in order to realize the start up of enterprises conceived by each Agency during the project. ALDA’s methodology employed for this project was not new and very comprehensible, maybe, the methodology of the Agencies supporting this project was more innovative. All the LDAs participated actively in the trainings and in the following concrete action in their territories showing that the methodology had been rightly absorbed. The scheme was fairly large to allow the Agencies to use it in the most fruitful way according to their local objectives. Ms. Valmorbida is very satisfied with the project and considers it as a successful activity of the Association and believes that also the Agencies are satisfied. In Ms. Valmorbida’s opinion the strengths of the project are the training for local actors, the methodology employed, trainers’ competences and the theoretical elaboration conceived by the Association. On the contrary, the major weakness of the programme is the time passing between the elaboration of projects for the start up of local enterprises – and therefore the end of the programme - and the their implementation; unfortunately, fundraising is an important activity requiring much time and slackening the concrete realization of projects and, consequently, weakening partly their positive impact. This project showed that this kind of development programmes should be implemented over a period of 2 or 3 years minimum, in order to connect directly the first part with its follow up. Concerning the evaluation of ALDA’s work, the Association does not have a single evaluation protocol because it implements very different projects; the evaluation is normally done project by project. At present, an external society from Bologna – PROGECO - is trying to elaborate a general evaluation including all the LDAs. Maybe, a unique evaluation protocol could ameliorate ALDA’s work, but for the moment Ms. Valmorbida cannot foresee in what measure. For sure, the evaluation process is very important but it should not take the place of the concrete action;

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what ALDA is doing is an evaluation programme by programme, and sometimes a general evaluation concerning the impact of the Agencies in their territory. ALDA’s Director is satisfied with the methodology of the Association which is the reason for its success, but there is always something to change to ameliorate the effectiveness of the methodology. The major problems that ALDA faces and should give the priority to are: the sustainability and correspondence of projects to local needs, the people involved and the network, which is rapidly growing together with its necessities. Probably, the most important question concern partners: the Association should elaborate a “mechanism of fidelization” of the existing partners in order to save time and energies in the fundraising process.

4.2.6 Mr. Martial Paris82, coordinator of the project Mr. Martial Paris is the assistant of the Director of ALDA since 2003 and also is a project coordinator of the Association; in particular, he has coordinated the project funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs “Local Economic Development in the Balkans”. After having worked for different Swiss NGOs, he accepted this position because of its flexibility and dynamism. As with the other people interviewed, I asked Mr. Paris some questions about local economic development and, in particular, about the implementation of this project as long as he was its coordinator. Mr. Paris explained in his questionnaire that the economic situation can vary a lot from one country to another according to their peculiar socio-political situation and past. However, they present some common aspects: first, the introduction of the free market economy instead of the planned economy - this change, together with the consequences of the war and the destruction of infrastructures, impoverished the population; second, an important tax crisis; finally, the lack of trust of young entrepreneurs in local authorities. Nowadays, what the area needs is the creation of conditions fostering employment and economic recovery. Local economic development is a process that can be

82 To read the complete version of the questionnaire in French, see the Annexes pages 262 to 267.

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realized only if local authorities, companies, NGOs and civil society work together in order to ensure a sustainable growth and an increase in employment by using human, natural, historical and economic resources of a well-defined territory. The integration of all actors of this process is fundamental as well as the fact that population should always be informed about programmes and changes in the territory. Local authorities, NGOs in the field, local entrepreneurs, and civil society are the key elements of local economic development as long as it is local actors that should decide on their territory and future. Nevertheless, it is often difficult to involve civil society on account of its mistrust towards institutions. Local economic development also has an important place in international organizations’ policies: the World Bank and World Trade Organization, as well as the United Nations, fund more and more local economic development programmes to develop a sustainable and well-integrated environment. The main factors of this kind of development are: • Identifying political and market weaknesses; • Identifying strengths and advantages of the territory; • Identifying natural conditions and constrictions of the territory; • Realization of strategic dynamics and plans, put into practice by all actors on the basis of the SWOT analysis83. In general, a good development project combines the local sphere with the national and international spheres; only in this way, a well-balanced and sustainable local development can take place.

Mr. Paris was the responsible for the “French programme” and therefore had to organize training for local actors in cooperation with French trainers, support local animators and LDAs, release information to French local authorities, take care of international partners and the donor - the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs - control the realization of the foreseen activities, and to write reports regularly and the final report for the French MAE. This project was conceived because the LDAs

83 SWOT analysis: analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

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expressed some specific needs and because ALDA’s French partners wanted to be involved in local economic development programmes. Thanks to the work of the LDAs, which are mostly composed by local workers, ALDA could identify local needs and show the members of ALDA’s network these problems in order to create some synergies making the most of partners’ competences. Local economic development was one of ALDA’s objectives for the period 2003- 2006 established during the General Assembly in Subotica in 2003. The Association tries to satisfy local needs of the Balkans identified by the 11 LDAs and, thus, all the Agencies normally participate in the projects. According to Mr. Paris, the “French programme” corresponded exactly to the LDAs’ objectives and to civil society needs as long as there cannot be political and democratic stability if there is no economic development ensuring a decent quality of life. Before writing the project, the Association asked all the Agencies to present their objectives and the kind of activity they needed in order to respond to local necessities; just after this consultation, Mr. Paris conceived the programme so that each Agency had a certain degree of autonomy in implementing the project to attain its goals. The subject of the programme was new for the coordinator as well as for the Association; it was its first local economic development project. However, the LDAs of Zavidovici and Prijedor had already implemented some projects in this field. On the contrary, the duration was one year, rather usual for ALDA’s activities in the Balkans. With regard to the methodology employed, it was completely new. By mutual consent with trainers and Delegates, the project was based on a training- action methodology: 4 seminars of 3 days each were organized (the first in Rozaje, the second in Zavidovici, the third in Umag, and the last one in Ohrid) and then the animators returned to their regions followed by the trainers during all the programme. Mr. Paris asserts that the force of this programme is the training-action methodology which ensures a long-term follow-up to local animators; however, the success of the project depends on all the actors: ALDA, the LDAs, civil society, local authorities, and local actors. On the contrary, the weakness of it has been the instable political situation caused by elections in Serbia and Croatia in 2004. In

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general, this programme can be considered as a success as long as the activities foreseen responding to local needs has been implemented in a very satisfying way after some initial adjustments. ALDA’s methodology is a successful one because the Association conceives projects basing itself on information and needs transmitted by Local Democracy Agencies; this needs evolve and, consequently, also the nature of projects. This mechanisms together with the close relationship between democratic and economic development assure the flexibility and the success of this methodology. Concerning the evaluation process, ALDA has not a unique evaluation protocol, but there is one for each project. Normally, the evaluation criteria are established, project by project, by the Association together with trainers and after the implementation of the project the participants evaluate the outcome of the project with regard to their specific needs. The coordinator of the programme believes that all the Agencies are satisfied with the project.

4.2.7 Some other opinions of local economic development

4.2.7.1 Mr. François Friederich84 During our meeting at the Council of Europe on 13 May 2005, I asked Mr. Friederich to give me a definition of local economic development and of its factors and actors. According to his opinion, local economic development is a development linked with the presence of some facilities, such as infrastructures, that allow enterprises and producers to work in good conditions. For example, one of the most important obstacles in the development process of Osijek, is the fact that the harbours of Osijek and Vukovar and the airport of Osijek have never been rebuilt after the end of the Croatian war in 1996. Today, these infrastructures would partly favour its development even if they have not a central position as they had during the Tito’s era.

84 For the complete transcription of his interview in French, see the Annexes, pages 230 to 247.

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The principal actors of this process are local authorities and local entrepreneurs: these two elements should be kept clearly separate from each other to avoid corruption. The interlacement of politics and economics was rather common some years ago and had very bad consequences for local economic development. The situation is slowly changing because Croatian politicians have understood that, in order to join the European Union, to adopt free-market economies completely and to foster development by attracting foreign investors, the political environment must be honest and clear; no investors would risk in a country which presents corrupted and unreliable political and economic environments. This unclear and dishonest environment is one of the major problems of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the distinction between politics and economics is not taken for granted. The presence of an active civil society is another important element in the development process. When Mr. Friederich arrived in Osijek, civil society was practically inexistent and the rare NGOs defending refugees and human rights were regarded as enemies. In this context, a “School for Civil Society” was founded with the aim of stimulating the participation and interest of common people in the decision-making and development processes, the exchange between local economic actors and foreign partners, and the development of the school system. A well balanced development always pass through a conscious civil society.

4.2.7.2 Mr. Giampaolo Cordiale85 Mr. Cordiale is the Secretary of the Commission on Sustainable Development of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities since 1995; he is charged with the organization of the meetings of the Commission and with the preparation of documents which are submitted to the analysis and approval of the Commission and Congress’ members. During our encounter at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe at the Council of Europe on 19 May 2005, Mr. Cordiale explained the concept of sustainable development and tried to define its

85 For the complete transcription of his interview in Italian, see the Annexes, pages 248 to 254.

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factors especially in relation to the work of the Congress and in the perspective of an enlarged European Union. Sustainable development can be defined as a kind of development taking into consideration the three major aspects of development: economy, society and environment. The basic idea of sustainable development is that it should grant an economic stability and the protection of natural environment and society in the medium and long-term and not in the short-term. It is a kind of development which considers not only current needs, but also, and especially, the needs of future generations. There are many theories and interpretations of sustainable development stressing one or another of these aspects. The Congress has an “open-minded” approach and works on a large number of regions in order to compare different situations with similar problems and to foster experience exchanges and the adoption of common solutions to common problems. Concerning the Balkans, the Congress is working on their development process in order to drive these countries towards the integration into the European Union. These countries present different economic and social situations and the Council of Europe is trying to develop their economic potentialities - such as tourism, services, and new technologies – as well as democratic and political reforms. The most important programme of the Congress in this field is the establishment of the “Adriatic Euroregion” which could become real at the end of the year. This initiative is aimed at creating an entity in common to the different regions, provinces and towns on the Adriatic Sea and a strong cooperation between Italian regions - and the regions of the other European countries on the Adriatic Sea - and the Balkan countries which are not in the EU, such as Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania. The basic idea is that the “Euroregion” could foster this cooperation in order to favour the economic, social and democratic development of the Balkan countries; great attention will also be given to pollution, fishing and agriculture questions. Mr. Cordiale does not make a distinction between local sustainable development and national/international sustainable development as long as the objective is the same one: to grant the durability of development, the wellbeing and quality of life of

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populations and the protection of environment. In the Congress’ approach, democracy and human rights take precedence over economic and financial support; local and regional authorities can have a fundamental role in the achievement of this objective. According to his opinion, international organizations, NGOs and foreign investors have a substantial role in the development process of the Balkans. On the one side, international organizations, such as the Council of Europe, are very important in the democratic and political change of these countries as well as in the funding of economic projects. On the other side, NGOs foster intercultural and inter-religious dialogue, life in common, and peace through different activities and programmes: civil society is the basis for a sustainable and well-balanced socio- economic development and NGOs are very close to common people acting as an intermediary between the population and the projects of international organizations. The relation between NGOs, at the local level, and international organizations and foreign investors, at the global level, is fundamental because a well-balanced development pass through efficient administration, information and connections; this link is often realized by town, regions and provinces, which have a fundamental function in the development process at the local level. For all these reasons, Mr. Cordiale believes that the work done by NGOs and in particular by ALDA and the LDAs contributes a lot to the democratic and economic development of the region and should be fostered as much as possible.

4.3 Some guidelines for evaluation. Possibile improvements in ALDA’s methodology

As resulting from the questionnaires, the Delegates on the one side and the Director and Project Manager of ALDA on the other side interpreted the outcomes of the programme in rather different ways. This discrepancy stresses the importance of evaluation for development projects. In the last ten years, scientific evaluation has rapidly developed and today is regarded as a must for development programmes. Although it represents really an important part of a plan to grant its effectiveness, it

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should always be kept in mind that an objective and empirical appraisal cannot be realized as long as it is impossible to control all external variables, that can influence the final outcome. Thus, this analysis can only produce a subjective evaluation proper to a specific project which cannot be generalized. Consistent and reliable, flexible evaluation methods are beginning to be developed to embrace very different development projects. The most important choice is what to measure, or what aspects of performance to focus on; in order to identify their evaluation priorities, organizations need to be able to recognise and differentiate key performance areas. The most general questions for measuring effectiveness are: why are we engaged in this programme (referring to long-term goals)? What actions are we going to take to work towards our objectives? How are we going to plan, organize and manage our activities in relation to our context and resources? Organizations can be distracted from asking the right questions by factors such as funding conditions, constraints of time and resources and concerns about appropriate or practical methodologies. The key is that actors have the resources, time and know-how to experiment with new ideas and approaches to other relevant forms of evaluation in order to find the methods which better meet their particular needs and context. Evaluation tries to measure the effectiveness and impact of development programmes, the achievements of long-term goals, that is to say the intended or unintended results and changes coming from the activities implemented; this is a long-term process which requires an open and flexible approach to changes. The measurement of changes in values, attitudes, skills and behaviour relies on comparisons and on the ability to recognize and describe when changes have taken place, in other words through self-reflection. It is of basic importance to develop the capacity of organizations to plan and evaluate their development actions effectively and the question is how can be easily developed valid, worthwhile and appropriate measures of success in development education. The challenge is not only to provide appropriate methods and tools for evaluation, but also to work in ways that build a collective sense of purpose and commitment; there is a need to demonstrate the quality and impact of development education practice. The questionnaires proposed

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to the Delegates for this work make it clear that not only final evaluation is important – because it shows what has been achieved by the end of a project and thanks to what activities - but also formative and intermediate evaluation is fundamental. Formative evaluation provides information necessary for the planning and management of a project, directly supports project development and its implementation at early stages to identify possible problems and to set strategies to adapt programmes accordingly. It takes place assessing participants’ attitudes, skills and knowledge, piloting materials and describing and assessing relations between project staff and participants. Intermediate evaluation is carried out in process, during the implementation of the programme to assess changes which are taking place and to understand if something has to be modified in order to achieve final objectives or to carry it out more effectively. On the contrary, summative evaluation is concerned with “summing up” project achievements and demonstrating its effectiveness; often it is carried out after a programme has been completed and is easier if an evaluation has been conducted at the beginning to establish a baseline against which to measure changes86. Evaluation should provide continual feedback throughout a project (in process) allowing actors to plan and manage its implementation effectively. Therefore, evaluation can be both an input and an output and can tell whether and why a project is progressing well or apparently failing to meet its objectives. Evaluation is fundamental both for development projects and for individual actors. When properly planned, it can be completely integrated into development programmes; for sure, it is a long-term investment, allowing to use resources in a more effective way. In order to verify technical competencies of projects, some criteria are needed and the person conducting the analysis can compare the final or intermediate outcome of the project with the initial situation studying in the following order87:

86 Weaver J., “How much did I change the world?” – Evaluating Development Education – a handbook, Norwich, 1993. 87 These theoretical elements were given by Professor Claudio Baraldi, during his course called “Teoria e Metodi della Pianificazione Sociale” at the Modena and Reggio Emilia University, 2004-05.

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1) context: a description of the socio-economic and cultural context and of the existing problems is needed in order to estimate the impact of activities; furthermore, it is necessary to assess participants’ level of knowledge and competencies in local and sustainable development sector and, at the same time, to ask oneself what are the themes and questions to go into thoroughly to attain objectives. When working with community groups made up of different people as in the case of ALDA, it is fundamental to identify different levels of awareness and this is fundamental for the successful implementation of development programmes. Often this knowledge of the context lacks and should be carried out, however, planning cannot take too much time to the detriment of the action as Ms. Antonella Valmorbida asserted in her interview. 2) aim, objectives and activities: it is necessary to distinguish these three elements, all needed in a project. The aim is the very general goal of a project, in this case is to foster local economic development through the action of local actors; it is a very long-term goal and evaluation is very difficult to be carried out. Objectives are more specific and in this case concern improving the knowledge and understanding of concepts concerning local economic and sustainable development, developing abilities and skills, changing attitudes and values and changing behaviour and action of local actors in order to promote the creation of economic initiatives; promoting memberships and links between local authorities and economic actors. Evaluation is normally concentrated on the objectives as long as the aim cannot be evaluated in the short term. To produce these outcomes, actors are involved in activities proposed by the trainers, which can be the establishment of working groups studying their territory through a detailed diagnosis, questionnaires and interviews, seminars, good practice exchanges, brainstorming, and focus groups. Objectives and activities must be kept separate from each other;

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3) recipients: people involved in the project who take advantage of the activities implemented. Recipients can be subdivided into two categories: final recipients, who are - in the case of the “French Programme”- the actors of the working groups, and intermediate recipients, who are, on the contrary, the two animators of each LDA, whose function is to foster research and cooperation of the working groups. The distinction between these two types of recipients is very important because it clarifies the tasks of everyone, this should be done in a very accurate way. The difference between project managers and actors must be very clear; however, the participation of actors in the planning and evaluation of project is more and more important. In general, the participative planning is a positive feature of development programmes because allows the fundamental contribution of civil society – which is the first recipient of local economic development projects – but should be avoided when the context does not allow this kind of cooperation; 4) foreseen activities: a good project normally defines its activities precisely and it must be clear since its beginning what are the aim and objectives, why, how and when a project is carried out. When there is a participative planning, as in the case of the “French Programme” the activities are more flexible and could be changed according to different needs. In the “French Programme”, these activities are brainstorming sessions, questionnaires, interviews, diagnosis of the territory, discussions, experience exchanges, etcetera; 5) resources: in relation to the objectives and foreseen activities, it is fundamental to establish the resources needed to implement the project, which can be economic, human, of organization or management. The definition of human resources is an essential task because concerns the people implementing the project and is directly connected with competencies and knowledge; the principal questions are Who are the most suitable people? How much people? How long? Human resources are closely connected with economic resources because budget and funding usually influence the choice of human and material resources, often affecting

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negatively the outcomes. Also material assets are very important because refer to infrastructures, technologies and other elements necessary to the concrete realization of activities and which have an impact on organization and budget. 6) organization: it is a rather complex variable which takes into account the overall management of the programme establishing activities, documents to be used, and communication between people concerned (in the case of the “French Programme”: project manager, trainers, animators and actors). In addition to that, it is important to define well the responsibilities of all the participants: the difference between responsibility and cooperation must be clear in order to avoid loss of information. The major risk of organizing perfectly a programme is that it could become too rigid; on the contrary, organization should be a rather flexible structure allowing the implementation of a programme efficiently; 7) methodology: indispensable feature of a project, it is normally established by project managers or trainers. The methodology of an intervention establishes its basic concepts which allow, later, the concrete implementation of a programme through activities. 8) evaluation plan: a good project should include a precise evaluation plan containing information about the person conducting the evaluation, the person determining the future of the project, the timing and the subject concerned with the evaluation and the techniques used for evaluation and for decisions on the future of the programme. The problem of evaluation is that if it is carried out by a person of the Association obviously cannot be very objective or scientific; on the contrary, if it is run by a person coming from outside it could be too detached, limited and risky. The best solution is an evaluation model in which an external analysis and an internal auto- evaluation determine together the impact of a project: an external expert should follow the intervention since the beginning and should help in the constitution of a mixed and well-balanced evaluation model. Another

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important aspect is that the person conducting the analysis should not be the person who decides on the future of a project. A third relevant feature is that the moment in which the analysis will be carried out should be established in advance, this could help a lot in the planning of an intervention. Demonstrating effectiveness relies on analyses of learning and change.

Following the list of elements mentioned above, we can observe the features of the “French Programme”, which reflects rather accurately the scheme proposed in this paragraph. Concerning the context, trainers explained, during the first seminar, the concept of local economic development and sustainability and through some activities, such as discussions and brainstorming, tried to understand the level of knowledge and competencies of participants who came from different backgrounds. The two persons chosen for the animation of the 11 working groups had to do the same with the 15 people making up the groups as long as they represented local authorities, NGOs, civil society and entrepreneurs The working groups were then requested to analyse their socio-economic and territorial context. Responsibilities and tasks of participants were clearly established in advance although there was a cooperation and interaction between the different people participating in the project. Aim, objectives and activities were, on their side, clear. The general aim of the project was local economic development of the regions hosting the LDAs; for sure, it was an ambitious goal, which cannot be reached in one year, but can be evaluated in some years. The short-term objectives were very explicit: the training of 22 local animators (2 for each LDA), the set up of 11 working groups made up of 15 people each and the definition of 11 action plans on local economic development in the regions of the LDAs. Also the recipients of the project must be defined since the beginning; final recipients are - in the case of the “French Programme”- the actors of the working groups, intermediate recipients are, on the contrary, the two animators of each LDA, whose function is to foster research and cooperation of the working groups. The trainers had established all the activities in advance

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(brainstorming sessions, interviews, questionnaires, territory diagnosis, construction of scenarios) and had communicated them to the participants before each seminar; obviously, dealing with participative planning, the activities were rather flexible in order to be adjusted if the situation required some last-minute changes. An important element which normally influence a lot the outcome of projects is resources. The choice of human resources is fundamental for the effectiveness of actions; in this case, the Association chose two qualified experts for the training. Also animators and actors were very important, that is why they came from different environments. Some Agencies reproved ALDA for not having a person charged only with this programme. Obviously, the reason for this choice was economical: budget and funding unfortunately influence the choice of human and material resources. Infrastructures, technologies and other materials at the disposal of the participants allowed the realization of planned activities. From the point of view of the methodology, the Association of Local Democracy Agencies has always clearly indicated its methodology, which can be considered successful as long as ALDA is trying to export it outside the Balkans. The methodology normally used is comprehensible: it is a multilateral decentralized cooperation based on the training-action system, involving many subjects (local authorities, associations, NGOs) which work together - first in training and then in practice - through concrete action. In the case of the “French Programme”, trainers used a research-action methodology based on the diagnosis of a territory and on the conceiving of possible interventions; activities implemented to make this methodology concrete were the creation of working groups active in the territory. The Delegates stressed many times the importance of a methodology proper to local needs, which can be very different from one region to another. According to the Director and the Project Manager, this project was flexible in order to allow the Agencies to adapt it to their necessities; however, the Agencies met some obstacles during its implementation. For the LDA of Kosovo it was not the most suitable programme for the region because of its particular situation, there are some more important problems to solve before, first of all the political question of the Statute;

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for the LDA of Montenegro, it was what the region needed for local development but civil society was not sufficiently developed to participate actively in the programme; for the LDA of Osijek, the area needed this project but, at the beginning, there were different expectations and understanding of the programme between local actors; finally, the LDA of Verteneglio is very satisfied with the typology of project but thinks that the methodology of ALDA should be changed. Furthermore, while for some Agencies it was the first local economic development project and the methodology was new, some others had already implemented programmes of such kind and for them the methods employed were rather familiar.

The other important question concerns evaluation. The questionnaires highlighted the fact that some Delegates did not have a clear idea of the evaluation process: when conducting an evaluation, we have to ask ourselves some important questions: did we set appropriate aims and objectives for the evaluation? Who is the person/organization conducting the analysis? When this analysis will be carried out? Did we involve appropriate people in the evaluation? Did we select appropriate methods for information collection and did we use them effectively? It is important to communicate final evaluation results to people who can use them; this can be done through conventional reports, brief summaries or handouts, newsletters, or during meetings. Maybe, the Association should take major care of this aspect of the project: although the evaluation process should not take the place of the action and is complicated to carry on, it is very important to follow exactly the evolution of participants’ feelings towards the project. The questionnaires pointed out that the satisfaction of the Director and Project Manager of ALDA was not the same of the Delegates. As introduced above, some important features of a local development project should be: • a double evaluation: an intermediate evaluation, carried out during the implementation of the project in order to catch the evolution in process and whose results can be discussed with people interested in order to find effective solutions to problems, it is of direct and immediate benefit to the

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planning and management of the project; a final evaluation, which could be run at the end of the action or/and some time after the conclusion (for example 3 years) to assess the medium-term impact and effectiveness of the programme, for example the creation of new businesses; • a “double staff” of evaluation made up of an expert external to the Association who could judge in a rather objective way and an internal group which could auto-evaluate its work (for example animators of the working groups). Furthermore, it is important that the evaluation is not carried on by the Director – who should decide on the project’s future – or by people who established the methodology employed; • a unique evaluation protocol for all the LDAs and ALDA, which does not exist, as well as a unique protocol for all the projects. Normally, the evaluation protocol is established project by project, according to different objectives and needs. When a project is conceived by LDAs, the parameters of the analysis are established by them in cooperation with trainers and partners; on the contrary, when a project is conceived by the Association, as in the case of the “French project”, the protocol is constructed by ALDA, always in cooperation with trainers and eventually with financing bodies. Mr. Medjedovic stresses the importance of having a common protocol and Mr. Duchene, on his side, draws attention to the need of evaluating ALDA and LDAs’ action in general. Also Mr. Ademollo and Mr. Fernetich stress the importance of re-thinking the way of action of the Association: according to them, project proposals should come only from the LDAs, which are aware of local needs and strengths, and ALDA should examine projects to propose them to financing bodies. On this last subject, as the Director introduced in her interview, a general evaluation project on ALDA and LDAs’ effectiveness is being carried out by PROGECO – a society from Bologna, Italy. • in order to verify the effectiveness of the programme, project manager/people conducting evaluation have to chose indicators, which can

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be quantitative (something expressed in number or quantities, such as the participants in a training) or qualitative (such as the competencies developed in the participants). It should be good to work together with the actors in order to establish indicators, as long as differences in understandings or additional objectives can be discovered. Obviously, people conducting evaluation should select those indicators that provide the most useful information in terms of planning and managing the future work; the methods used to collect information about indicators must be valid, reliable, cost and time-saving as much as possible; • a methodology based on training/action and on participative planning is very efficient because it allows the understanding of local needs through people living in the area and participating in the project and, at the same time, the training of these people in order to make them active in the development process of their region. The Association should continue in this direction in order to foster a development based on local strengths; • as Ms. Antonella Valmorbida stressed during the interview, these local development programmes should be longer in order to assure a greater and more effective impact in the territory and should follow and assist local actors day-by-day to grant their correct implementation. The lack of time, together with the lack of resources or qualified trainers, is one of the major obstacles to the successful implementation of development actions; • as the Delegates pointed out in the questionnaires, the situations of their regions are very different and it is fundamental to previously evaluate in detail the real situation of an area and, thus, the possible outcome of a project in a specific territory according to socio-economic and political situation, needs and problems. In the case of Kosovo, for example, there were already important economic programmes of international organizations and this programme was maybe too ambitious in that context. Furthermore, greater attention should be given to the choice of trainers as long as they are

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not always so prepared and practical but often give only a theoretical framework; • the communication between ALDA and the LDAs should be intensified in order to allow a constant flow of information and a continuous exchange fostering an improvement in planning, according to specific needs. Some LDAs asserted that, during the project, the communication between the Association and the Agencies was slow and weak, probably because there was not a person responsible for this programme only. Maybe this lack of communication is testified by the fact that Ms. Valmorbida and Mr. Paris were unaware of some Delegates’ dissatisfaction and opinions.

Some of these elements are already part of ALDA’s methodology, some others not or could be explored deeply in order to improve its effectiveness. This research among the Delegates of the LDAs stresses, once again, the importance of a regular evaluation, which should have the same parameters for all the Agencies; however, the evaluation process should not take the place of the action. Furthermore, what the Balkans need nowadays is a differentiated kind of development and, thus, different suitable development projects according to local needs, strengths and weaknesses; that is why some Delegates stressed the importance of evaluating before the suitability of a project for a specific territory and suggested that projects should be proposed by the Agencies rather than by the Association. Obviously, these are only suggestions about development projects as long as the discussion about their methodology, means and long-term effectiveness is still open and will be verified in the upcoming years. For sure, the Balkans are facing one of their major challenges of the after-war period and even though they have to build their future primarily with their forces, international interventions and projects remain fundamental for a well-balanced and sustainable democratic, legal and economic development.

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ANNEXES

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KERIM MEDJEDOVIC (Delegate of LDA Nikšić - Montenegro)

1. Just to understand your position, what is your function within the Local Democracy Agency of Montenegro? How long have you been in such a position and why did you accept to become a Delegate?

Delegate is the head of the office. I am the delegate since 1, April 2004. I accepted this position because it offers great possibilities to work on building democracy in Montenegro what I was already doing, a position where I can engage in best manner personal skills and experience, and also possibilities for professional and personal development.

2. What kind of works/positions did you have before becoming a Delegate?

Descending: - Director Executive in local NGO “MOTOR” - Training Consultant in “Montenegro Advocacy Program” – USAID/ORT - Programme Coordinator – Nansen Dialogue Centre Montenegro - NGO Capacity Building Trainer, Project Manager and “NGO Bulletin” Editor in Chief Centre for Development of NGOs, Podgorica

3. What was the situation of the LDA Montenegro and of ALDA when you became the Delegate of LDA Montenegro?

One person full time employed, five part time. Two projects operational, four standing by waiting for funding. Few hundred euros on the account. Low public visibility of LDA, low level of skills of persons involved and poorly developed policies, no partnerships with Montenegrin NGOs, media or official institutions.

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4. What was the situation of the region related to the consequences of the war? Are these consequences still visible?

- Economically – great consequences. – - Infrastructure not maintained. - Criminality, corruption, poor institutions functioning (judiciary, etc). - Many Montenegrins emigrated (mainly minorities – Muslims – Bosniacs (45000 according to state census 2003).

5. How did the economy of the region changed in the last 10 years? And in the last few years?

At the beginning of nineties, all communist companies stopped working due to bad management from before or UN embargo during the war. Workers were still going on their working places but not doing anything waiting the Government to give them something, Government became the biggest enterprise – low level of parliamentarian control. Grey market blooming, smuggling goods from Albania (oil, tobacco and other illegal goods but also products for everyday use) and one number of people found jobs working in the street or on illegal markets. Government became also the biggest employer since everyone dreamed of getting state-job and securing existence in that way (all levels of govt. including local authorities, customs, hospitals, universities etc.). Therefore public consumption (what state is spending for being operational) is over 50% of the state budget (around 400million of euros – Budget of the Republic of Montenegro). The level of unemployment is (according to various sources) varying from 30% to 65%.

In the last few years almost all broken companies were closed and people stopped going to work there for nothing and produce nothing. Almost all state owned companies are privatised, with various results – some of them are closed after being privatised, and some work and make profit. The way, the manner privatisation is being done – transition to private property instead of state or “social-common” property is disputable and under critics of opposition, some experts and NGOs. There’s significantly raising number of foreign investors and domestic businessman who are starting new businesses. The environment is becoming friendly for such activities – banks are offering credits, the government is creating better and encouraging fiscal and

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6. How would you define the economic development of Montenegro?

There is no state policy or national consensus on the strategies and directions of Motenegrin economical development, from which we can derive main priorities and actions to encourage development, starting businesses and opening new working places, create fiscal and credit environment and attract investors. The only thing everyone agrees, political parties, experts, etc: tourism, agriculture, wood processing and services (transport mainly) are main economical directions.

7. What are the most important sectors of the Montenegrin economy?

Raw aluminium – Podgorica aluminium factory engages the chain of production (aluminium ore - mine, electricity, coal – used to produce electricity); iron and steel; some metal industry; wood processing industry – basic level; tourism; agriculture.

8. What kind of products does Montenegro import?

Everything.

9. What is the situation of the agricultural sector?

Starting to grow but uncontrolled import lowers prices. A number of farms: sheep, goaths, catle, chicken, turkey; also intensive fish breeding and production. There are some processing companies – milk and dairy products, smoked meat, caned fish, fruit juices.

10. How would you define Montenegrin industry?

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11. What can you say about tourism in Montenegro?

Great potential but: not easy to access, bad roads, only two small airports, old hotels (privatised and being invested in reconstruction – more and more); not satisfying advertisement abroad; not developed tourist product.

12. According to the “Strategic Framework for Development of Sustainable Tourism in Northern and Central Montenegro: Roadmap for Development of Wild Beauty”(draft), this kind of tourism will be the leading sector in the years coming. What do you think about it?

I am thinking of founding my own tourist agency: this is the future of Montenegro! Alternative tourism, active vacations, discovering the nature and cultural heritage, natural variety that provide the opportunities for various kind of activities, and in the middle of Europe. History and culture.

13. What do you think the major challenges and risks are?

Selling out Montenegrin hotels and other facilities to businessman that are not interested in developing the offer but rather in money laundering or so, and the government should be fast in adjusting the policies in order to encourage small tourist companies to operate such as family hotels, restaurants, agricultural tourism and business.

14. And what the most important advantages?

Nature: landscape, seaside, beaches, mountains, clean rivers, lakes...all in a small area. Satisfying infrastructures: roads, railroad, airports, ports, many hotels, water supply; tradition and experience in tourist work with good and educated personnel.

15. Do you think that this sector could recover the Montenegrin economy?

If it is connected to other sectors such as natural food production, cultural and other offer, transport, road and sea connections, with good governmental policy and political stability and safety that has returned - YES.

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16. What are the most important actions that should be undertaken in order to grant the development of this sector?

State consensus on the main directions should be reached or detailed governmental strategy developed. Government should lower the taxes, make it easier to start a business, and restitution of property taken away from citizens during communist rule and privatisation finished. There’s announcement by government that WAT will be 7% and not 14% for tourist activities next year.

17. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development recently declared that the economy of the Balkan region augmented significantly and estimated its grow at 6,5% in 2004. Do you think this estimation is real?

It is likely to be real. If you have a low benchmark – bad economy, than it is easy to reach this or even bigger growth.

18. Particularly, in what sectors is this clearly visible?

In Montenegro: agriculture, tourism, transport, small metal or wood processing companies, services.

19. As Delegate, what are the most relevant projects/programmes that you realised/are realising? Were they of economic, cultural, intercultural or social type?

Social and educational, and two economical.

20. What are the situation and the perspectives for young people?

They need support. Everyone is dreaming of finding happyness somewhere else.

21. What is the rate of unemployment in Montenegro? Did it augment in the last few years?

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30% to 65%, depending on the source. It is decreasing.

22. Did some important economic changes take place in the region in the last few years? If yes, thanks to what projects, investments, organisations?

Montenegro is using Euro. Privatisation is going on. Many big companies are operating thanks to local or foreign private capital.

23. What is the importance of Foreign Direct Investments? Are they numerous in the region? If yes, in what sectors and on what basis?

Big companies, hotels. Bought controlling package of stocks on tenders.

24. Are there some facilities for this kind of investments (for example in the tax system)?

No.

25. Could you give me a definition of Local Economic Development?

People together with others (government, banks, educational institutions, etc.) working for their better life standard.

26. What are the most important FACTORS of this kind of development?

Moving people, involving many stakeholders, providing them with tools and skills.

27. And what are the most important ACTORS of it?

As stated in 25: citizens, but not alone.

28. As Delegate, did you realise some local economic development projects?

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Yes, one. “Local Economical Development”, supported by ALDA and French ministries of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture.

29. Are there some local agencies/services/organisations performing expert and technical activities connected to the preparation and realization of local economic development projects?

Employment bureau, local Business centres (existing, but not operating well).

30. In what measure is the civil society important in these projects? What are the most important actors of the “civil society”?

Animating people, transferring skills and knowledge, making connections.

31. How could you define the relation between the economic development at the local, national, international levels? Is this relation important? Why?

Exchange, help, support, learning from each other, developing policies together.

32. In your opinion, how this relation can influence the positive outcome of a project of local economic development?

Governmental policies, investments, people moving.

33. What are the priorities in your region? And in what sector/s the action of the LDA (but also of the international organizations and NGOs) should be concentrated?

Developing skills, building policies, pilot projects for gaining the experience and “feeling” that something can be done, exchange visits.

34. Would you like to add something important that I did not ask you and that could be relevant to understand the economic background of the region?

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It seems that each of these actions are waiting that the political status of Montenegro is settled. Thanks to the Referendum in 2006, citizens will choose whether they want to live in an independent Montenegro or in some kind of union with Serbia.

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METHODOLOGY QUESTIONNAIRE KERIM MEDJEDOVIC

1. Concerning the « Pilot Project : Actions for Local Economic Development in the Balkans » of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies co-funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DG for Cooperation and Development – Mission for non-governmental decentralized cooperation) in 2004: why does this project exist? Where does it come from?

2. What is the objective of this project for your Local Democracy Agency?

- To make the analysis of the territory and identify a specific project together with relevant local stakeholders - To strengthen partnership with LDA Montenegro local partner – City of Rozaje - To establish a new program within the LDA strategic orientation – economical development (gaining knowledge and experience)

3. What is its objective for the area/region ?

- To animate citizens and various stakeholders for local economical development

4. And what is the objective for the Association of Local Democracy Agency? As long as LDAs are not obliged to implement ALDA’s projects, why did you chose to participate in?

- ALDA objective – ask ALDA - I chose to participate in it because: see answer 2, bullet 3

5. What is the importance/position of this project in the life of the LDA ? ( is the subject a classical one88 or a new one? Is the methodology employed classical or new? And its duration, is it a classical one or a new one?)

88 Classical: typical of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies.

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- New subject, new methodology – one of strategic areas of work in future for LDA Montenegro - Duration – « classical »

6. What are the relations between the project and the work in the field ? (Did your Local Democracy Agency have any problems in implementing/integrating this project in the field? Did it correspond to the demand/need of the civil society? Was the methodology understandable ?

- Methodology was simple, but sometimes was not transferred to us by trainers in the most understandable way. Maybe due to the interpretation of trainings, maybe due to the high level of competence of French trainers. - The program and topic were exactly what the area needed – but civil society not developed well and was not ready for this yet. - Difficult to implement because I was in Podgorica and Nikšić and the project was implemented in Rozaje – 170 km away. The figure of “Co-animator” was not the best choice – “overqualified” (selected by ALDA). - The problem in implementation is that the only thing people are expecting is fresh money (to elaborate if needed) – difficult to animate. - Natural partners (local staff) in the field dealing with the same issue considered LDA as a competitor, and therefore interfered with our work.

7. Who was the person responsible for the implementation of the project ? The Delegate or someone else ?

The delegate.

8. Are you satisfied with this project? (themes, methodology and relationship between your LDA and ALDA)?

So and so.

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- Good subject, good methodology – approach, tools, trainers.

10. If not, what are its weaknesses (themes, methodology, and/or relation ALDA/LDA)? Does the failure of the project depend on the elaboration done by ALDA or rather on the concrete realisation done by the LDA?

- Training methodology not adjusted – too much lectures and too little practice, literature and materials not easy to understand. - Communication between LDA and ALDA too weak and slow (both ways) – possible solution: staff dedicated only to this issue

11. What did you learn from this experience for the future actions of the Local Democracy Agency and of ALDA? What changes would you make to the methodology of action of ALDA and of the LDAs?

- This methodology is proper to be used in every area in Montenegro (possible projects) - More resources and energy to be dedicated to such projects. - The person in charge and working on it should be originally from the area supported by and outside expert. - A part of ALDA staff should have dedicated full time to the project .

12. Do you have an evaluation protocol ?

Basic level: - Quantitative evaluation – number of participants, number of meetings, number of questionnaires. - Qualitative was included in the methodology: participation of representatives of all stakeholders.

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- Evaluation of potential projects – animators with the mayor of Rozaje.

13. If yes, who did elaborate and realise this evaluation protocol?

- Project manager=animator=delegate.

14. If not, would it have been an important instrument for the realisation of the project ?

Yes, it would be an important instrument. It should be created on the ALDA level to be the same for all LDAs.

15. Would you like to add something that I did not ask you and that you consider as important?

- Great potential and need of this kind of projects in the field. - More resources should be dedicated to this. - Need of diversification of the methodology – animation, education, exchange, study visits of municipal representatives, experts and businessman, cooperation with other institutions involved in similar activities (UNDP, USAID, Employment Bureau, Governments...), combining with credit lines (maybe establishing “local development funds”) .

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STEVE DUCHENE (Délégué de l’ADL de Gjilan – Kosovo)

Strasbourg, le 22 mai 2005

1. Pour comprendre un peu votre position, pourriez-vous me dire quelle est votre fonction à l’intérieur de l’ADL de Gjilan? Depuis combien de temps vous occupez ce poste et qu’est-ce qui t’a porté à l’accepter ?

Je suis délégué de l’Agence de la Démocratie Locale du Kosovo depuis son ouverture en février 2003. J’étais déjà présent au Kosovo depuis avril 2002 pour préparer l’ouverture de l’ADL. Ayant été associé, et même l’un des déclencheurs, dans la création d’une ADL au Kosovo, c’est tout naturellement que je me suis proposé d’en être délégué et que cela a été accepté par les partenaires. Pour moi travailler sur le projet de l’ADL c’était une bonne opportunité de pouvoir être présent physiquement au Kosovo après avoir travaillé sur ce territoire, à divers titres associatifs, mais de France, et ce depuis 1995.

2. Quels autres postes avez-vous occupé avant d’arriver au Kosovo (même dans des secteurs complètement différents) ?

Voir CV joint.

3. Quelle était la situation du réseau des ADL à l’époque où vous êtes devenu Délégué ? Est-ce que l’AADL existait déjà ?

Mon premier contact avec le réseau des ADL c’est fait en février 2001 au Conseil de l’Europe à Strasbourg. A cette époque, j’étais président de l’association française « Kosovo Ensemble ». Nous avions organisé la visite en France d’une délégation de représentants de la ville de Gjilan/Gnjilane avec lesquels nous étions en contact depuis 1995, donc déjà durant la période de Milosevic. Parmi les nombreuses rencontres au programme figurait en fin de séjour une visite au Conseil de l’Europe. Ce sont des représentants du CPLRE qui avaient accepté de nous rencontrer. Parmi eux était présente, Sylvie Affholder. Intéressée par l’engagement des représentants de la ville de Gjilan/Gnjilane pour la construction des

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Annexes, questionnaires Mr. Stève Duchene relations interethniques et l’action menée par l’association “Kosovo Ensemble” dans cette même ville, elle a très rapidement évoqué l’idée de faire une ADL à Gjilan/Gnjilane. J’ai ensuite approfondi cette proposition avec Antonella Valmorbida lors d’un de ses séjours à Strasbourg. Puis ensemble et avec le soutien de Sylvie nous avons travaillé à la mise sur pied du projet de l’ADL Kosovo avec en particulier mon envoi en Service Volontaire Européen en avril 2002 au Kosovo pour préparer l’ouverture de l’ADL, l’organisation d’une mission préparatoire en juillet de cette même année et une première réunion des partenaires en décembre 2002 à Strasbourg. Dès les premiers pas de l’association “Kosovo Ensemble” dans le projets de l’ADL, nous avons été pris en charge par l’ALDA qui existait alors depuis plus de trois ans.

4. En tant que Délégué de l’ADL de Gjilan, quels sont les projets plus importants que vous avez réalisé au Kosovo ? Sont-ils de type économique, social, interculturel… ?

« projets les plus importants » peut s’entendre de plusieurs manières : - financièrement c’est la gestion du programme irlandais avec des activités diverses touchant à la jeunesse ; - en nombre de personnes impliquées ce fut le forum transfrontalier des ONG de Kumanovo ; - en termes stratégiques c’est l’intégration et l’accompagnement de l’association des communes du Kosovo au CPLRE. Le type de ces projets est avant tout politique et de lobby : - Lobby sur les autorités locales au Kosovo par le programme irlandais. - Lobby sur les autorités locales des régions de Gjilan/Gnjilane (Kosovo) Kumanovo (ERY/Macédoine) Vranje (Serbie) sur les questions de coopération transfrontalière. - Lobby sur l’association des communes du Kosovo et le CPLRE dans l’intégration de cette association au CPLRE (l’association des communes du Kosovo y a un statut d’observateur depuis 2001) L’autre grand aspect de ces activités c’est celui de la jeunesse. Le programme irlandais et la coopération transfrontalière touchent de très près à la question de la jeunesse.

5. Selon un rapport récent de l’International Crisis Group, une entente entre les serbes et les albanais du Kosovo est encore une utopie…qu’est-ce que vous en pensez ? Et qu’est-ce que vous pouvez me

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dire de la situation actuelle entre les deux ethnies vu que vous êtes sur le terrain depuis 3 ans désormais ?

L’entente entre serbes et albanais n’est pas une utopie. Même si cela prendra du temps ce n’est pas une raison pour que l’on qualifie cette entente d’utopique. Ce que je peux dire c’est que actuellement les relations entre les deux communautés sont à la fois bonnes et mauvaises. Elles sont bonnes au regard du chemin parcouru depuis la fin de la guerre en 1999. Nous sommes passés par des périodes très difficiles. Mais chaque année on peut dire qu’il y a des points positifs sur l’amélioration de la liberté de circulation, la coopération dans le domaine économique, la tolérance… Mais malgré ces améliorations les relations sont mauvaises car beaucoup de choses sont inacceptables : l’intolérance, la méfiance, les attaques, l’entrave à la libre circulation. Et ces problèmes ne sont pas seulement le fait des albanais vers les serbes. Les serbes aussi jouent souvent un rôle très négatif quand ils le peuvent contre la communauté albanaise comme dans la région de Mitrovicë/Mitrovica. Mon opinion est que albanais et serbes ont beaucoup de capacité à s’entendre, à travailler et vivre ensemble. Mais cette capacité mettra encore un certain temps à s’exprimer car la guerre et ses blessures dans la communauté albanaise ne sont pas loin et les événements du mois de mars 2004 ont fortement marqué les serbes. Aussi il me semble impossible que serbes et albanais se réconcilient tant que le statut du Kosovo n’est pas clarifié car de fait les habitants du Kosovo, eux aussi, n’ont pas de statut. Pourtant nous savons tous que le travail sur l’identité est fondamental dans les processus de réconciliation. Qui sont les serbes et les albanais de cette région ? Ils sont serbes et albanais de Serbie ? de Serbie-Monténégro ? Du Kosovo ? L’exemple de la réconciliation franco-allemande est souvent mis en avant pour dire aux serbes et aux albanais de vivre ensemble au Kosovo. Mais il ne faut pas oublier qu’à la sortie de la seconde guerre mondiale le statut de l’Alsace/Lorraine était claire. Si l’Alsace avait été mise sous protectorat international et l’Allemagne non, peut être que la réconciliation aurait été bien plus complexe. L’autre facteur qui peut freiner l’amélioration des relations entres serbes et albanais c’est celui du manque de développement économique. Mais c’est pour moi un faut problème et c’est même dangereux de parler de cela. Le manque de développement économique ne peut pas excuser l’intolérance et la violence. Pourquoi le manque de développement économique au Kosovo provoquerait la violence entre la communauté alors qu’il ne va pas provoquer la violence dans les familles

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Annexes, questionnaires Mr. Stève Duchene entre frères, entre cousins ? La question du vivre ensemble est une question de morale, de dignité humaine et de respect de la vie d’autrui. Ce n’est en rien une question économique.

6. Donc, il y a quelques jours, vous m’avez fourni des articles de type économique pour me faire comprendre quelle a été la situation économique dans les dernières années et quels sont les problèmes majeurs auxquels le Kosovo doit faire face. Pourriez-vous me résumer brièvement quelle était la situation économique de la région quand vous êtes devenu Délégué ? Et comment a-t-elle évolué dans les trois dernières années par rapport au boom économique d’après-guerre, aux obstacles des investisseurs, au processus de privatisation….le boom économique, a-t-il été juste une illusion ?

A mon arrivée en 2002 et à l’inauguration de l’ADL en 2003, le Kosovo connaissait un taux d’accroissement important dû à l’après guerre : la reconstruction, la présence internationale, les aides européennes, l’aide des familles albanaises présentes en Allemagne et Suisse contribuaient fortement à cette croissance. Cela était la réalité du côté albanais. Du côté serbe, c’était une crise très grave car Belgrade avait incité les serbes du Kosovo à refuser l’aide internationale, à ne pas travailler pour les organisations internationales et dans le même temps les échanges économiques entre Serbie et Kosovo avaient beaucoup diminué. Dans ces dernières années la situation a changé. Nous sommes sortis de cette période du boom économique d’après guerre. La communauté serbe a commencé à travailler, notamment pour le commerce, avec les albanais. L’aide internationale a certes été moins importante mais de nombreuses entreprises se sont crées. Ce qui caractérise la dynamique économique au Kosovo tant chez les serbes que les albanais c’est l’importance du commerce et la faiblesse de la production. Dans une ville comme Gjilan/Gnjilane plus de 70% des créations d’entreprises sont des commerces et services. Seule la production agricole a lentement repris, dans un premier temps pour l’auto-subsistance, puis pour la vente et un peu pour l’exportation. Le Kosovo importe beaucoup et exporte peu. Le déficit est comblé par l’importance de l’aide de la diaspora albanaise qui, depuis l’Europe et les USA, aide les familles restées au pays. Cette situation ne pourra certes pas durer. Mais il faut aussi y voir des avantages. Dans les commerces crées au Kosovo on compte beaucoup de restaurants. Ils sont très actifs durant l’été quand la diaspora rentre. Les restaurants incitent la diaspora à consommer et

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Annexes, questionnaires Mr. Stève Duchene retiennent l’argent au Kosovo au lieu qu’il ne soit dépensé dans des lieux touristiques en Albanie Monténégrine ou encore Turquie. Cette fonction que les restaurants ont de retenir l’argent venu de l’extérieur ne doit pas être négligée. Il faut arrêter avec cette vision des internationaux vivant au Kosovo qui disent que les restaurants servent au blanchiment de l’argent et que c’est une aberration économique. Si les restaurants, les piscines et les hôtels se développent c’est parce qu’il y a une demande, même si il est vrai que nombreux sont les investissements qui se sont faits à perte. Il faut aussi noter la difficulté que le Kosovo a à se développer économiquement du fait du manque de personnel qualifié. Ce manque est le résultat de la guerre (fuite à l’étranger) et de la période de répression de Milosevic dans les années 90 (fuite à l’étranger et interdiction de l’enseignement en albanais). Le développement économique au Kosovo sera lent car il faut que les compétences des populations augmentent. Grâce à la dynamique des secteurs marchand, restauration et services, on peut dire que des compétences telles que la gestion et le management augmentent. Nombreux sont maintenant les anciens paysans qui, après leur arrivée en ville, ont appris à gérer une affaire en ouvrant un commerce ou un restaurant et qui, grâce a cette première expérience, ont envie d’ouvrir une fabrique. Cette tendance de vouloir investir dans la production va aller en augmentant avec le temps. Mais il faut rester lucide sur le fait que la non détermination du statut du Kosovo handicape le développement de l’économie du Kosovo. Sans statut le Kosovo ne peut pas avoir de politique de commerce extérieur et négocier de véritables quotas d’importation et d’exportation. Sans statut le Kosovo ne peut tout simplement pas vendre à l’étranger pour un problème d’indication de la provenance. Aussi sans statut aucun organisme de crédit ne va faire de prêt d’investissements sur le long terme. Seule des crédits à 16% sont actuellement disponibles. 16% pour l’activité commerciale, c’est réaliste quand il faut rembourser sur 3 mois. Mais quand il faut rembourser sur 5 ou 10 ans cela n’est plus possible. Alors que la croissance était présente en 2004 et début 2005 dans l’ensemble des Balkans y compris en Bosnie et Albanie, le Kosovo connaissait une stagnation de son économie. Si personne n’y prend garde le Kosovo risque très rapidement de s’effondrer socialement sur lui-même ou d’exploser en déstabilisant la région.

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7. Définiriez-vous le développement économique du Kosovo comme Subsaharien89 ?

Le développement économique du Kosovo n’est pas Subsaharien car il est en Europe ! Il y a des facteurs géographiques qui conditionnent le développement subsaharien et kosovare. Le Kosovo bénéficie, en périphérie, de la dynamique économique européenne. Les voix de communication qui relient la Mer Noire à l’adriatique ou la Turquie à l’Europe de l’ouest passent à 20 km du Kosovo. De nombreuses entreprises allemandes et italiennes visent le marché balkanique, et Kosovare en particulier, soit pour la vente ou la production. L’économie du Kosovo est très liée à l’économie allemande, italienne et turque. Aussi malgré les tentions politiques et la situation post-conflit, le Kosovo bénéficie d’une institution politique relativement stable. Bref. L’économie subsaharienne et Kosovare ne sont pas à mettre en parallèle. Si un parallèle pouvait se faire, il serait avec l’Irlande par exemple. L’Irlande a connu des difficultés politiques est sécuritaires très graves liées à la fin de la domination britannique ; la crise économique et la situation politique ont poussé de nombreux irlandais à l’exode. L’Irlande étant une île elle est géographiquement isolée et n’est pas au centre de l’Europe. Le Kosovo a beaucoup de similitudes avec l’Irlande. La diaspora irlandaise (notamment aux USA) a beaucoup joué politiquement et économiquement dans le développement de ce pays. Les espoirs du Kosovo sont aussi fortement placés dans la diaspora. Le lobby politique albanais aux USA est très fort. Plus de 300.000 albanais du Kosovo vivent en Allemagne, 180.000 en Suisse, 12.000 en France, 15.000 en RU, des milliers en Autriche, Australie, Suède, Norvège… Il y a 30 ans, l’Irlande était une région sous-développée. En 30 ans la clairvoyance des dirigeants politiques et les aides européennes ont fait de l’Irlande l’une des régions les plus économiquement dynamiques du continent. La clairvoyance des dirigeants politiques et l’aide européenne seront-elles aussi au rendez vous au Kosovo ?

8. Est-ce qu’on peut parler d’isolement économique et culturel de la région, voire de ghetto90 ? Est-ce que l’économie du Kosovo est vraiment en marge de l’économie mondiale ?

89 Koha Ditore, “Kosovo: un ghetto au coeur de l’Europe?”, paru dans la presse le 9 avril 2002 et mis en ligne par le Courrier des Balkans le 29 avril 2002. 90 Koha Ditore, “Kosovo: un ghetto au coeur de l’Europe?”, paru dans la presse le 9 avril 2002 et mis en ligne par le Courrier des Balkans le 29 avril 2002.

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Il existe un isolement économique du Kosovo dû au problème de statut. Mais hors de ce problème de statut l’économie du Kosovo est directement connectée à l’économie européenne et mondiale. Pour autant nous pouvons clairement parler de ghetto car il est très difficile pour les kosovars de voyager à l’étranger, d’étudier, de faire du commerce international. Le Kosovo du fait de son statut non défini ne peut pas être présent sur la scène internationale. Et dans le contexte d’une économie, d’une culture et d’un enseignement mondialisé, c’est très dommageable pour cette région. Plutôt que ghetto j’utiliserait pour le Kosovo le terme de « banlieue de l’Europe ». C’est l’endroit où l’économie va mal, où la criminalité peut facilement se développer, c’est aussi l’endroit dont on a peur, sur lequel on fait courir des fantasmes. Le Kosovo est dans la banlieue de l’Europe. Et la question est de savoir si il est question de véritablement développer cette espace pour qu’il soit pleinement intégré au reste de l’Europe ou de le développer juste assez pour que la banlieue n’explose pas ?! Nous aurions beaucoup à apprendre dans l’étude comparative de la relation entre ville et banlieue et entre Europe et Balkans. Cela nous apprendrait beaucoup sur la réalité sociale, économique qui lie Europe et Balkans. Cela nous apprendrait aussi beaucoup sur notre fausse représentation des Balkans, sur les fantasmes que nous y créons.

9. Si je vous propose la phrase « Au Kosovo règne l’improvisation, l’à peu près »91, qu’est-ce que vous en pensez ?

Cette phrase est tout à fait juste. Mais elle n’est qu’un aspect de la réalité car dans le même temps « au Kosovo règne la capacité d’adaptation, la capacité à réagir vite ». Au Kosovo comme dans bien d’autres régions tout se fait au dernier moment sans savoir si c’est vraiment sûr que les choses vont se faire. C’est frustrant pour nous, occidentaux adeptes de la planification. Mais en contre partie les Balkans et le Kosovo sont très réactifs et cela nous est souvent bien utile dans notre travail. Là où il faut faire des demandes 3 ou 6 mois à l’avance en Europe de l’ouest, tout peut être réglé la veille au Kosovo. L’improvisation ce n’est pas seulement un manque de savoir faire, c’est aussi une question de culture, de représentation et de gestion du temps. L’Europe de l’ouest a ses avantages de ce point de

91 Koha Ditore, “Kosovo: un ghetto au coeur de l’Europe?”, paru dans la presse le 9 avril 2002 et mis en ligne par le Courrier des Balkans le 29 avril 2002

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Annexes, questionnaires Mr. Stève Duchene vue, le Kosovo les siens. L’idéal serait d’aller vers un compromis. Mais surtout il est important de se garder de tout ethnocentrisme et de voir négativement tout « ce qui n’est pas comme chez nous », tout « ce qui ne fonctionne pas comme chez nous ».

10. Quels sont les secteurs les plus développés ? Sont-ils autosuffisants ?

Economiquement, le secteur le plus développé est celui du commerce. Il n’est pas autosuffisant car il ne vie que grâce à l’argent envoyé par la diaspora. Mais il ne faut pas nom plus négliger le secteur de l’agriculture. Probablement 60% de la population au Kosovo vie en secteur rural. L’agriculture d’autosuffisance est importante. L’agriculture destinée à la transformation et la vente est aussi de plus en plus présente. Le Kosovo a un gros potentiel agricole. Il y fait chaud et le sol est humide, ce qui est favorable à la culture de la céréale et à certains maraîchages. La montagne très verte offre des terrains très favorables à l’élevage. Il existait avant la guerre en ex-Yougoslavie un important secteur minier. Le Kosovo est riche en ressource naturelle. On y trouve principalement du lignite (charbon) et du plomb. Egalement d’autres minerais comme l’or, l’argent et la bauxite. Mais les outils d’exploitation son hors d’usage et la concurrence des pays comme la Chine et le Brésil est très difficile. Il est encore trop tôt pour déterminer avec précision quels sont les secteurs d’avenir de l’économie kosovare. Mais avec une population jeune qui parle beaucoup l’anglais et une population relativement petite, il n’est pas impossible que le secteur des services se développe à destination non seulement du Kosovo mais de l’ensemble de la région des Balkans. Il ne faut pas oublier que l’un des atouts du Kosovo pour l’avenir est sa jeune population. 50% des kosovars ont moins de 25 ans alors que la Serbie et la Slovénie on les plus bas taux de natalité d’Europe et que les populations croate, macédonienne et grecque sont très veillissantes.

11. Quels sont les principaux produits agricoles ? Comment définiriez-vous le secteur agricole ?

La production agricole est dominée par la production de tomates, piments et l’élevage. Il s’agit avant tout d’une agriculture d’autosuffisance familiale même si le secteur de la production ou de la transformation se développe. Même si le Kosovo exporte peu, il faut noter que la majorité des exportations concerne le vin. Le vin kosovare est vendu dans la

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12. Quel type de produit on emporte ? Est-ce que les droits de douane sont en partie responsables des difficultés économiques de la région ?

Le Kosovo importe tout. Des matériaux de construction, des voitures, du chocolat, des couches pour bébé, du papier, des boîtes de conserves… quasiment tout est importé. Les droits de douanes pas assez élevés sur certains produits qui pourraient être produits localement sont en partie responsables de cette situation. Aussi il n’existe pas au Kosovo de nomenclature des produits d’importation si bien que la taxe n’est pas payée sur la valeur réelle du produit importé mais sur sa valeur d’achat. Il suffit alors de faire une fausse facture qui sous évalue la valeur du produit pour payer moins de taxe. Cette pratique est très courante et les grecs y participent beaucoup. La marchandise déchargée en Grèce passe souvent par les mains de sociétés qui réceptionnent l’arrivage et le « revendent » aux sociétés kosovares pour une valeur facturée 3 fois moins que la valeur réelle, voire parfois 10 fois moins. Arrivée à la douane kosovare la société payera non pas la taxe sur la valeur réelle mais sur celle de la facture qui en fait est un faut établi par la société grecque en échange d’une commission. Dans de telles conditions, la marchandise importée au Kosovo case l’économie locale qui ne peut pas produire à des coûts aussi peu élevés que dans les pays pleinement industrialisés.

13. Quelle est la situation du chômage aujourd’hui ? et quelles les perspectives pour les jeunes ?

Après guerre le chômage était en 1999 de 75%. Il est aujourd’hui de 45%. La diminution est importante mais cette amélioration ne se poursuit pas. Il est évident qu’avec un tel taux de chômage les jeunes pensent constamment à quitter le Kosovo et rêvent de partir travailler en Suisse ou en Allemagne. Les jeunes on très peu de perspective car, en plus du manque de travail, l’enseignement est dans une situation catastrophique. Le Kosovo manque de bâtiments pour accueillir les élèves et étudiants, les enseignants de qualité trop peu payés vont dans le secteur privé et l’université de Prishtina/Pristina connaît une crise politique depuis des années et aucune issue n’y est vue. Par ailleurs, les responsables politiques locaux prennent très peu au sérieux le développement de l’éducation. Bien

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Annexes, questionnaires Mr. Stève Duchene souvent ils pensent que c’est le développement économique qui apportera le développement éducatif. Mais en attendant, l’un des principaux problèmes de l’économie kosovare est qu’il n’y a pas assez de gens compétents dans tous les secteurs.

14. En particulier, quelle est la situation économique, sociale et culturelle notamment en relation avec la cohabitation entre serbes et albanais et par rapport au reste du Kosovo ? Pourquoi à votre avis la cohabitation dans cette ville est meilleure qu’ailleurs ?

L’économie de la communauté serbe est maintenant très liée à celle albanaise au Kosovo. Serbes et albanais travaillent de plus en plus ensemble dans le domaine du commerce (et aussi du crime…). Si la situation est meilleure dans une ville comme Gjilan/Gnjilane par rapport à d’autres, c’est probablement lié à des facteurs variés. La région de Gjilan/Gnjilane a connu moins de destruction durant la guerre. Pourquoi ? Peut être que la guerre s’est finie assez tôt pour épargner cette région, que l’UCK y était mois active, que les civiles serbes ont moins participé aux exactions, que la région intéressait moins Milosevic… Nous pouvons émettre des idées mais il est difficile de savoir ce qui est vrai dans tout cela. Mais ce qui est certain c’est que si à Mitrovicë/Mitrovica la situation est mauvaise, c’est d’une part que les extrémistes serbes qui ont fait des exactions dans les villages et villes albanaises se sont réfugiés à Mitrovicë/Mitrovica nord après la guerre et que les albanais du centre du Kosovo qui ont perdu leurs maisons durant la guerre se sont déplacés à Mitrovicë/Mitrovica sud. Or, ces albanais sont justement réputés au Kosovo pour être les plus radicaux, ils seraient plus ancrés dans l’ancienne tradition et code d’honneur albanais. Cette modification démographique de la composition de Mitrovicë/Mitrovica entre l’avant et l’après guerre explique certainement en partie pourquoi la situation y est si compliquée. Mais il ne faut pas pour autant négliger les erreurs de la communauté internationale dans la gestion de la ville. Tant la KFOR que l’UNMIK n’ont pas su imposer leur présence et ont préféré entretenir la partition de la ville pour avoir une paix plus facile. Mais nous en payons aujourd’hui les conséquences et il est très difficile de savoir comment sortir de cette situation de ville divisée. En d’autres endroits du Kosovo la difficulté des relations entre communautés est peut être plus directement liée à ce qui s’est passé durant la guerre.

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15. Quels sont les facteurs qui on déterminé les troubles de mars 2004 ? Et les conséquences ? Y a-t-il eu des événements semblables depuis ?

Cette période du mois de mars 2004 reste très complexe à comprendre car personne ne s’y attendait et les facteurs déclencheurs sont peu claires. Aussi ces événements peuvent être perçus comme un échec de la présence internationale qui de fait n’a pas nécessairement envie d’approfondir sérieusement le sujet. Pour moi cette violence a des origines et des mécaniques très proches de ce qui peut exister dans certaines banlieues de métropoles européennes sauf que dans ce cas cette dynamique s’applique à l’ensemble du Kosovo. Pourquoi ? Parce que d’une part c’est avant tout des jeunes qui ont été acteurs de la déstabilisation, sans nécessairement qu’ils s’en rendent compte. Ensuite, tout a dégénéré le matin du 17 mars à Mitrovicë/Mitrovica durant une manifestation d’albanais qui protestaient contre la mort de 3 enfants albanais et accusaient des serbes d’être responsables. Aussi il ne faut pas oublier que la violence n’a pas seulement été entre les communautés mais aussi contre la présence internationale. En fait nous retrouvons ici beaucoup d’ingrédients d’un scénario catastrophe d’une banlieue qui explose : rumeur, émotion dans la jeunesse, manifestations, intervention des forces de l’ordre, affrontements entre forces de l’ordre et jeunes, dérapage du mouvement de contestation…

Chronologie des événements : Trois enfants albanais meurent noyés le 16 mars, la tension est vive et le 17 au matin une manifestation s’organise à Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, celle-ci dégénère. La police internationale et la KFOR interviennent car des affrontements entre albanais et serbes éclatent sur le pont central. L’intervention de la force de sécurité fait des morts côté albanais. La tension monte dans la jeunesse albanaise qui accuse la police UN et la KFOR de « tuer les jeunes à Mitrovica ». L’émotion cumulée à la tension déjà présente fait sortir les jeunes lycéens dans la rue pour manifester contre l’UNMIK dans la plus part des villes du Kosovo. La dynamique de la foule entraîne des jeunes puis des moins jeunes à détourner leurs critiques contre l’UNMIK en attaque contre les serbes accusés d’avoir tué 3 enfants albanais. Le 18, la situation est encore terrible. Le 19, tout se calme. Nombreux analystes internationaux y verront une action préparée de longue date dans le secret. Très facile à imaginer, dans le contexte du Kosovo cette idée est peut-être une manière d’éviter de dire que l’on a tout simplement rien compris, éviter de reconnaître que c’est une explosion

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émotionnelle dans la jeunesse qui a provoqué l’explosion de violence au Kosovo. Une chose est pourtant certaine : il est très peu probable que si la violence avait était préméditée elle aurait pu se contenir en 2 jours. Si il y avait eu une véritable organisation derrière tout cela il aurait fallut des semaines pour stabiliser la situation et des revendications seraient apparues. Depuis mars 2004 la situation est bien plus stable. Les incidents entre communautés sont devenus beaucoup plus rares et la population albanaise ou serbe a peur que cela ne se reproduise. Mais cela ne veut pas dire que ce qui s’est produit en 2004 ne peut pas se reproduire. Il n’est pas impossible que le groupe radical des deux côtés se prépare à récupérer plus rapidement une nouvelle situation chaotique pour déclencher un conflit qui profiterait au développement de structures mafieuses.

16. Etant donné que vous vivez là-bas, quels sont les problèmes pratiques majeurs que la région doit affronter pour pouvoir connaître un développement économique normal et pour pouvoir sortir de la situation actuelle, qui est très instable et problématique ?

Les problèmes majeurs on déjà été évoqués plus haut : - Statut du Kosovo - Développement de l’éducation.

17. Quels facteurs pourraient améliorer la situation économique et sociale de la région à votre avis ?

Définition du statut du Kosovo et développement de l’éducation.

18. Est-ce qu’il y a eu des changements importants dans le développement économique local dans les dernières années? Si oui, grâce à quels projets et organisations ?

Globalement, les programmes internationaux pour le développement économique n’on pas eu d’impacte. Il est très prétentieux de prétendre qu’un projet change les choses car le problème est grand et touche à tous les domaines de la société. Il faut rester réalistes et reconnaître que le plus important facteur du développement de l’économie au Kosovo, c’est l’aide de la diaspora. Un programme qui a eu un impacte très important, c’est certainement celui né par la FAO sur le redéploiement des activités agricoles. Il y a eu un

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Annexes, questionnaires Mr. Stève Duchene très grand programme pour reconstituer les élevages qui avaient été tués durant la guerre, moderniser la technique de culture, apporter de nouvelles semences, améliorer la qualité de la production… Il y a eu de nombreux projets pour la formation du personnel municipal, des responsables d’entreprises… mais cela ne semble pas avoir été véritablement efficace car ceux qui ont suivi ces formations sont rarement ceux qui ont développé des activités économiques.

19. Quelles sont les principales organisations qui s’occupent de rédiger des projets de développement économique au Kosovo ?

- UNDP - Agence européenne pour la reconstruction - USAID

20. Pourriez-vous me définir le concept de développement économique local ?

Le développement économique local pourrait se définir par une stratégie qui vise à soutenir le développement et la création d’entreprise par l’étude et l’amélioration des moyens de production technique et humain ainsi que l’écoulement des produits et services créés. Le développement économique local doit, pour apporter des réponses, impliquer de nouveaux acteurs habituellement exclus du débat sur le développement économique. La dimension territoriale doit être au centre du développement économique local par le développement du réseau d’acteurs et notamment d’entreprises qui permettent un développement mutuel des activités. Enfin le développement économique local ne doit pas perdre de vue sa visée de développement humain et garder à l’esprit la création, le maintien et l’amélioration de l’emploi sur l’ensemble du territoire sans que cela ne nuise aux inserts des populations et de l’environnement tant dans le moment présent que à l’avenir

21. Quels sont à votre avis les FACTEURS les plus importants de ce type de développement ?

Le facteur le plus important est la mise en réseau, la mise en relation des acteurs. Si il n’y a pas de liens entre école et entreprise, l’économie ne peut pas se développer. Si sur un même territoire les entreprises ne travaillent pas de sorte de s’alimenter les une les autres, il ne

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22. Et quels en sont les ACTEURS les plus importants ?

- Entreprise - Ecole/université - Centres de recherche - Municipalités - Etat - Lieux de concertation sur le développement économique (chambre d’économie par exemple)

23. Avez-vous mis en place des projets de développement économique local ? Si oui, lesquels ? Ont-ils eu des conséquences positives, par exemple la création d’entreprises et/ou le développement d’une activité économique particulière ?

Nous avons participé à la mise en place de formations dans le domaine économique. Il est certes difficile d’estimer l’impacte de ce type d’action mais je serais plutôt tenté de dire que cela n’a pas eu de résultat pour le moment. En revanche, dans le cadre d’activités de soutien à la francophonie, nous avons aidé un certain nombre d’entrepreneurs locaux à se rendre sur des salons industriels en France, Belgique et Suisse principalement mais aussi en Allemagne et Italie. Cela a concerné environ 15 entreprises. Suite à ces actions, plusieurs d’entres elles ont développé leurs activités ou en ont même démarré un site de production. Lors de ces déplacements dans les salons industriels les points positifs évoqués par les participants ont été les suivants : - De nouvelles idées pour développer ou créer une activité économique - Des contacts pour l’achat de machines de production (neuves ou d’occasion) - Des contacts pour l’achat de matières premières - Des contacts avec des entreprises européennes prospectant dans les Balkans - Des investisseurs étrangers.

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Ce que les participants auraient voulu trouver mais qui n’ont pas eu : - Des crédits à taux bas pour investir - Des clients pour l’achat de la production

Il est certain que dans ces activités, l’ADL n’est pas le seul facteur qui a permis le développement ou la création d’activités mais on peut facilement dire qu’elle y a apporté une aide reconnue et parfois déterminante.

24. Quelle est l’importance de la participation de la société civile en tout cela ? Et quels en sont à votre avis les acteurs les plus importants ?

Oui, la société civile participe à cela. L’économie de marché demande à ce que ce soit la société civile à agir sur le développement économique. A l’époque de l’économie planifiée la société civile était exclusivement consommatrice vis à vis des entreprises qui étaient toutes tenues par l’état. Maintenant seulement les entreprises privées et donc provenant de la société civile existent. Mais il y a une mauvaise tendance qui a souvent considéré qu’un industriel n’est pas la société civile… pourtant il l’est ! Le chef d’entreprise fait partie des personnes qui participent à la vie de la ville. La participation de la société civile, ce n’est pas seulement les ONG ou la participation aux prises de décisions locales mais c’est aussi la création d’entreprise, d’un commerce… L’économie du Kosovo est 100% le fruit de l’implication de la société civile. Ni le gouvernement, ni la commune n’ont la mission et les moyens de créer des entreprises.

25. Comment pourriez-vous définir le rapport entre le développement économique international, national et local/régional ? A votre avis, est-il important le lien entre les trois ?

A un niveau local, l’économie du Kosovo est très liée à son statut, à sa ressource humaine et technique. A un niveau régional, l’économie du Kosovo est très liée à la stabilité politique de la région des Balkans, aux axes de communication qui lient la région avec le reste de l’Europe et aux capacités de production électrique régionale.

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Au niveau européen, l’économie du Kosovo est très liée à celle de l’Allemagne, de la Turquie et de l’Italie ainsi qu’à la présence de la diaspora albanaise en Europe de l’ouest. Enfin l’économie du Kosovo est très liée à l’économie mondiale car, suivant le climat politique et économique international, le Kosovo peut espérer une intervention des organismes de crédits internationaux, l’évolution du prix du carburant ou encore les relations entretenues entre les USA et le Kosovo.

26. Dans quelle mesure peut-il affecter la réussite d’un projet de développement local ?

Très difficile à dire car cela touche tellement à tout les domaines de la société !

27. Quels sont les priorités dans votre région ? Et dans quels domaines devrait se concentrer l’action de l’ADL, mais également des ONG, organisation internationales et autres institutions qui agissent là-bas ?

Les priorités de l’ADL sont : - La jeunesse - La coopération transfrontalière - Le soutient de l’Association des communes du Kosovo. Les priorités que les organisations internationales devraient avoir et aussi l’ADL est de préparer l’ « après définition » du statut du Kosovo.

28. Est-ce que vous souhaitez ajouter quelque chose que vous considérez comme très importante ?

Je pense que, quand on parle d’action pour le développement de l’économie dans les Balkans, il est important d’être clairs sur pourquoi on veut faire cela. Il existe beaucoup de projets de petites organisations qui ont avant tout des visées politiques dans ce type de projet. Des visées politiques dans la mesure où ces organisations appartiennent à des courants politiques et idéologiques nostalgiques de la Yougoslavie et de l’époque où le socialisme yougoslave était érigé en modèle autogestionnaire. Chaque organisation peut appartenir à de tels courants si elle le souhaite. Mais le risque de ne pas être assez pragmatiques et trop idéologiques est fort. Aussi le Kosovo, comme le reste de la région, fait trop souvent office de terrain sur lequel certains voudraient voir fonctionner ce qui n’a

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QUESTIONNAIRE METHODOLOGIE STEVE DUCHENE

1. Venons au « Projet pilote : Actions pour le développement local dans les Balkans » mis en place par l’Association des Agences de la Démocratie Locale et cofinancé par le Ministère des Affaires Etrangères de France (DG de la coopération et du développement – Mission pour la coopération non- gouvernementale, décentralisée) en 2004. Pourquoi existe ce projet ? D’où vient-il ?

Ce projet est né à l’Association des ADL. Je ne pourrais pas dire comment. Mais il est fort possible que c’est avant tout la possibilité de faire une demande de financement au Ministère des Affaires Etrangères Français qui ait conditionné la naissance de ce projet. Mais ce n’est qu’une spéculation de ma part.

2. Quel est l’objectif de ce projet pour l’ADL ?

Pour l’ADL ce projet aurait dû avoir pour objectif de travailler sur le développement économique par l’application, sous forme d’un projet pilote, d’une méthodologie participative. Il s’agissait en fait de faire participer la population du territoire concerné dans la réalisation d’un diagnostic territorial et de l’impliquer ensuite dans le montage d’un projet. Je dis que ce projet « aurait dû avoir pour objectif pour l’ADL » car ce n’est pas l’objectif qu’il y a eu. Cet objectif était l’objectif que l’Association des ADL attendait que les ADL aient. Mais il n’y a pas eu de véritable appropriation du projet par l’ADL Kosovo. L’objectif réel dans la mise en place de ce projet était d’avantage de répondre à une commande de l’Association des ADL, de participer à un projet commun avec les autres ADL.

3. Quel est l’objectif pour le terrain ?

Pour le terrain ce projet aurait dû avoir, comme déjà indiqué plus haut, pour objectif de travailler sur le développement économique par l’application de la méthodologie également citée plus haut. Mais dans les faits l’objectif de ce projet n’a jamais été très clair. Car des

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Annexes, questionnaires Mr. Stève Duchene projets de ce type et de cette dimension il y en a déjà eu beaucoup au Kosovo et les conclusions mitigées n’incitent personne à croire que des résultats vont en découler.

4. Et quel est l’objectif pour ALDA ? Etant donné que les ADL ne sont pas obligées de mettre en place les projets de l’Association, pourquoi avez-vous choisi de le faire ?

La question de la non obligation des ADL de participer à ce type de projet n’avait pas été posée à ma connaissance au moment du lancement de ce projet. Il était évident pour tous que tous devaient participer. Surtout il était évident pour l’Association des ADL que la force des ADL est d’être un réseau et que de fait tous se doivent de participer au projet proposé dans le réseau. Ce n’est que plus tard que la question de la participation ou non de l’ensemble des ADL à un projet proposé par l’AADL est apparue. En fait l’ADL Kosovo n’a pas choisi de participer à ce projet. Elle s’y est retrouvée sans vraiment l’avoir demandé et sans l’avoir refusé. A noter toutefois que, dans la phase de préparation du projet, l’AADL avait demandé aux ADL de fournir une attestation des villes hôtes sur leur intérêt à participer au projet. A la municipalité de Gjilan, le responsable du secteur de l’économie a produit une lettre d’avis négatif. Mais cela n’a rien changé au cours des choses.

5. Quelle place a le projet dans la vie de l’ADL ? (le sujet, est-il classique ou nouveau ? la méthodologie est-elle classique ou nouvelle ? et la durée, est-elle classique ou nouvelle ?)

Etant donné que l’ADL Kosovo venait de se créer tout était neuf tant en termes de sujets abordés que de méthodologie utilisée. Mais avec le recule je peux dire que ce projet est du point de vue de la méthodologie une mise en œuvre classique de ce que fait l’AADL avec l’ADL du Kosovo et les autres. Mais ce n’est pas le cas quand on regarde ce qui se passe à l’intérieur de l’ADL du Kosovo, qui ne travaille plus sur ce type de thématique et qui n’utilise pas ce type de méthodologie pour les projets qui lui sont propres.

6. Quelles sont les relations entre le projet et le terrain ? (est-ce que l’ADL a eu des difficultés a intégrer le projet sur le terrain ? est-ce que cela correspondait à une demande de la société civile ? Est-ce que la méthodologie était compréhensible ?)

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La méthodologie était compréhensible. Mais créait des frustrations. Les frustrations étaient liées au fait qu’une fois de plus une formation allait avoir lieu alors que tous attendaient ici des financements pour des projets ou, au moins, des possibilités de crédit d’investissement qu’il n’est pas impossible d’avoir au Kosovo. Ce qui est difficile dans ce type de projet c’est que nous avons une sorte de prétention de proposer une expertise dans un domaine d’action. Mais d’un autre côté nous savons que notre action sera limitée dans le temps. Pourtant expertise rime avec expérience, avec long terme. La méthodologie utilisée était bien, même si on peut toujours imaginer des améliorations. Mais pour que ça marche il faut que l’organisation qui porte le projet se consacre qu’à ce type de projet. Il faut que le travail d’accompagnement fait par une organisation internationale soit constant et sur une période minimum de 3 ans. Sans cela ce qui est fait n’est pas viable. Je parle là de mes observations, des commentaires que j’ai entendu au sujet de divers projets menés dans la région et de notre propre expérience. Mais ce qui est dit là est peut être très spécifique au Kosovo. Ici, il y a un manque d’expérience important, il ne faut pas oublier que le Kosovo était sous- développé durant la période yougoslave contrairement aux autres républiques et provinces. Ensuite les années ‘90 ont été marquées par la situation d’apartheid, le non fonctionnement des écoles. Il y a trop peu de compétence dans la société civile pour qu’un projet puisse fonctionner sans un accompagnement quotidien et de long terme.

7. Qui était responsable de la mise en place du projet à l’intérieur de l’ADL ? Le Délégué ou quelqu’un d’autre ?

C’tétait moi-même en tant que délégué et le responsable municipal des questions de développement agricole. Mais cette personne a changé de fonction quelques temps après pour devenir responsable du département des inspections municipales.

8. Est-ce que vous êtes satisfait de ce projet (thématiques et méthodologie, relations ALDA/ADL) ?

Non, personnellement je n’en suis pas satisfait. Sur le plan thématique le développement économique c’est une chose importante. Mais il faut ici rester réaliste. La situation est très grave et des initiatives il y en a eu beaucoup sans nécessairement de résultat. La méthodologie interne au projet était bien mais sur une durée trop courte et l’accompagnement était trop léger. Sur le plan des relations ADL / ALDA,

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9. Si oui, quels sont ses points forts (thématiques et méthodologie, relations ALDA/ADL) ? est-ce que la réussite du projet dépend de l’élaboration faite par ALDA ou plutôt de la mise en place faite par l’ADL ?

L’idée de former des locaux aux stratégies de diagnostiques territoriaux puis à la définition et au montage d’un projet économique était bien. Aussi il y avait une situation d’alternance entre moments théoriques et moments pratiques qui était très bien réfléchie et qui garantissait une bonne appropriation des connaissances par les participants aux formations des formateurs.

10. Si non, quels en sont les faiblesses (thématiques et méthodologie, relations ALDA/ADL) ? est-ce que l’échec du projet dépend de l’élaboration faite par ALDA ou plutôt de la mise en place faite par l’ADL ?

Il y a trop peu de personnes à l’ADL Kosovo et les projets propres à l’ADL et au réseau de partenaires sont passés en priorité. Aussi il ne faut pas oublier que c’était une période très complexe. Nous étions en 2004. Les émeutes du mois de mars avaient relativement complexifié la situation. Tout les projets de l’ADL devaient se réorganiser et le climat politique n’était pas très stable. En plus de cela en fin 2004 des élections législatives ont été organisées et le responsable local avec qui nous travaillons était engagé dans les élections. Le contexte de 2004 n’était pas facile. Travailler au Kosovo n’est pas pareil que travailler en Croatie où la stabilité politique et sécuritaire et très largement acquise. Malheureusement du côté de l’ALDA cela a relativement peu été compris. Pour preuve : l’ALDA a montré peu de préoccupation sur la situation au Kosovo de 2004 alors que dans le même temps tous nos autres partenaires, y compris le Conseil de l’Europe et la Commission Européenne, nous envoyaient des messages pour avoir plus d’informations ou nous encourager. La réalité de ces difficultés propres à la situation du Kosovo et que vit l’ADL ici n’est pas reconnu par l’ALDA. Pourtant quand en début 2005 une formation pour les ADL a été

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Annexes, questionnaires Mr. Stève Duchene organisée à Gjilan/Gnjilane les inquiétudes étaient grandes parmi les représentants des ADL à l’idée de se rendre au Kosovo. A ce moment l’ALDA et les ADL sont passées d’une négligence à une catastrophisation à outrance.

11. Quel enseignement tirer de ce projet pour les futures actions ALDA et/ou ADL ? Quels changements apporteriez-vous à la méthodologie d’action de l’Association des ADL et des ADL mêmes ?

Premièrement tant du côté de l’ADL que de l’ALDA il faut être plus réaliste sur nos capacités et ne pas forcer l’un à être dans un projet. Il faut accepter que l’on ne peut pas tout faire parce que l’on en a pas toujours les capacités, que les projets ne sont pas toujours adaptés à toutes les régions et que ce n’est pas toujours le bon moment en même temps pour toutes les ADL. Sur la méthodologie interne au projet je ne pense pas qu’il y ait des choses importantes à changer. Mais sur celle de l’ALDA il faut se rendre a l’évidence qu’il n’est pas possible que toutes les ADL soient un jour spécialistes de communication, puis de gestion de conflit, puis de développement économique ou encore un peu plus tard spécialistes de la jeunesse. Peut être que ce type de spécialisation éphémère et superficielle est viable quand une ADL travaille seulement sur une ville. Mais quand on intervient sur un territoire aussi vaste que le Kosovo, pour se faire une place, apporter quelque chose d’utile et de reconnu il faut offrir un degré d’expertise maximum sur les sujets que l’on apporte. Et cela n’est pas conciliable avec une trop grande démultiplication des sujets d’intervention et l’engagement de court terme.

12. Est-ce que vous avez un protocole d’évaluation ?

Sur l’ensemble de l’ADL non, cela se fait par action. Nous n’avons pas encore eu le temps de travailler sur cela. C’est encore trop tôt. Nous devrons continuer à consolider l’existence de l’ADL Kosovo projet par projet avant d’entrer dans une stratégie de structure ADL proprement dite.

13. Si oui, qui a élaboré et réalisé ce protocole d’évaluation ?

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S’agissant des actions de l’Association des ADL les protocoles d’évaluation sont ceux de l’ALDA. Pour les autres projets propres à l’ADL, c’est elle même qui met en place ses protocole. Cela se fait par des recherches de mode d’évaluation sur internent ou en partenariat avec le financeurs du projet. Pour le moment nous n’avons jamais eu d’évaluation externe. Pourtant la plupart des organisations internationales actives ici en ont régulièrement.

14. Si non, est-ce cela aurait représenté un atout important pour la réalisation de ce projet ?

Pour la réalisation de ce projet non, je ne pense pas que cela aurait représenté un atout important que d’avoir une évaluation externe. Celle proposée par l’ADL était largement suffisante. En revanche, c’est l’ensemble de ce qui est fait par l’ALDA et par les ADL qui aurait besoin d’une sérieuse évaluation, d’un véritable audit qui soit sans complaisance.

15. Est-ce que vous voudriez ajouter quelque chose que vous considérez comme importante et que je ne vous ai pas demandée ?

Je tiens juste à insister sur le fait qu’au Kosovo il y a beaucoup d’initiatives d’organisations internationales. A Gjilan/Gnjilane il n’y a pas loin d’une centaine d’internationaux civils qui travaillent pour diverses organisations et institutions, il y en a des milliers sur l’ensemble du Kosovo. A Nikšić ou Subotica les internationaux peuvent se compter sur les dix doits de la main… quand il y en a. Pour exister dans un contexte aussi chargé en présence internationale il faut être pertinent, proposer une véritable expertise sur les sujets abordés…

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MILJENKO TURNISKI (Delegate of LDA Osijek - Croatia)

1. Just to understand your position, what is your function within the Local Democracy Agency of Osijek? How long have you been in such a position and why did you accept to become a Delegate?

I am Delegate in LDA Osijek since 2001. I accepted it because I was very much involved in the activities of the LDA Osijek and its work at that time and I saw a lot of sense in it.

2. What kind of works/positions did you have before becoming a Delegate?

I worked for a private company as marketing manager and, for a short time, I had run my own business.

3. What was the situation of the LDA Osijek and of ALDA when you became the Delegate of LDA Osijek?

When I became Delegate, LDA Osijek had already been working for 7 years and the main areas of its activity were already established, so I mostly continued these activities and gradually adjusted the work of the Agency and developed new programmes in accordance with the needs in the field.

4. What was the situation of the region related to the consequences of the war? Are these consequences still visible?

The consequences of the war were visible then and they are still visible in socio-economical terms, in terms of architectures, safety (minefields), unemployment.

5. How did the economy of the region changed in the last 10 years? And in the last few years?

The economy is the slowest to recover and we are just reaching the level of production we had in the 90’s – before the war. Also in comparison with other Croatian regions which

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6. Could you compare the situation of Croatia (and in particular of the Baranja County) with the situation of Kosovo today?

In comparison with Kosovo, Croatia and also Osječko-baranjska County is much better organized without daily national problems within different nationalities, living standards are higher and future is much more clear and predictable.

7. How would you define the economic development of Croatia, and especially of the Osijek County?

Still insufficient in corporations with possibilities and potentials.

8. There is a great difference between the development of the coasts and the one of the internal regions. Could you explain why?

On the coast there is quite organized tourism which means that they have possibilities to earn quite relevant money, in quite a short time. There is almost no tourism developed in other parts of Croatia (or is just at the beginning!). Concerning production and real industry, they are - in both mentioned regions - equally undeveloped. Of course, the war is the most significant reason for this when comparing war affected and not affected places.

9. What are the most important sectors of the Croatian economy?

Agriculture, building of ships, food processing industry, wood processing industry, tourism, but also petrol industry.

10. What kind of products does Croatia import?

Many products: food and agricultural products, cars, medical equipment and technology, IT equipment and technology, also furniture, weapon etc.

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11. What is the situation of the agricultural sector? According to the Osijek Baranja County Investment Guide soil composition and climate are suitable for agricultural business development…

Confusion, without good strategy, too many small farms which are not sustainable, no proper education of farmers especially not in terms of entrepreneurship.

12. How would you define Croatian industry?

As a whole society and the State, the industry is also still in transition. It is necessary to provide new investments and new technology.

13. What can you say about tourism in your region? Croatia already knows, we could say, a mass tourism on the coasts….do you think that a sustainable tourism could be possible in your county? Is it in the government projects as in Montenegro?

In our region tourism is not developed, it has just being started a kind of tourism connected to the river tourism (Danube) and agricultural tourism. Tourism could be sustainable in our region, we have great unused potential (nature, rivers, peaces, food, cultural heritage), and there are efforts in this direction and it is a part of the government strategy.

14. What do you think the major advantages and challenges of this new kind of tourism are?

Possibilities for employment of unemployed local people in the region, a way of retaining inhabitants in the region; it could help the development of other sectors connected to tourism such as agriculture, transport, infrastructure, environment protection etc.

15. In your opinion, what sector could be a leading one for Croatian economy in the years coming?

Tourism and agriculture.

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16. What is and what was the importance of the geographic location for Croatian economic development?

It has always had a very big importance for Croatia because it is on the cross roads from Eastern to Western and Northern to Southern Europe, but also on the way to Asia (Turkey).

17. What are the most important actions that should be undertaken in order to grant Croatian economic development?

Better privatisation process (so far we have not had good experience with it), careful attraction of investments based on strategic decisions and concepts, more investments in education, more structured support to small and medium businesses etc.

18. Does the Croatian Government is moving towards a sustainable type of economic development? Do you think it would be important?

I hope so and yes, it would be important.

19. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development recently declared that the economy of the Balkan region augmented significantly and estimated its grow at 6,5% in 2004. Do you think this estimation is real?

As far as I know according to statistics in Croatia, the growth is not so big yet, it is about 5 %, but generally speaking the situation is getting slowly better in different fields.

20. Particularly, in what sectors is this clearly visible?

In infrastructures (roads especially) and in the economy structure (some new industry and more and more entrepreneurs).

21. As Delegate, what are the most relevant projects/programmes that you realised/are realising? Were they of economic, cultural, intercultural or social type?

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One of the major projects realized was intercultural (trans-border cooperation) but also connected to economy and socio political elements.

22. What are the situation and the perspectives for young people?

It depends on their education, it is not bright and easy but also not very bad. Situation requires more and more personal effort and initiative.

23. What is the rate of unemployment in Croatia? Did it augment in the last few years?

It is about 17% - 18% percent, it did not increase, on the contrary it is slowly decreasing, especially during the summer when a part of the people work in the tourism sector.

24. Did some important economic changes take place in the region in the last few years? If yes, thanks to what projects, investments, organisations?

There were quite a few investments in banks, telecommunications and tourism thanks to the government strategy and programmes.

25. What is the importance of Foreign Direct Investments? Are they numerous in the region? If yes, in what sectors and on what basis?

No, we did not have so many foreign investments so far.

26. Are there some facilities for this kind of investments (for example in the tax system)?

Yes, there are advantages for such investments especially if they are located in free economic zones which are developing in Croatia.

27. Could you give me a definition of Local Economic Development?

It is development based on sustainability using and at the same time seriously protecting local potentials, attracting green field investments and strongly investing in formal and

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28. What are the most important FACTORS of this kind of development?

People, existing local resources, infrastructures, national policy, some global trends etc.

29. And what are the most important ACTORS of it?

Local stakeholders.

30. As Delegate, did you realise some local economic development projects?

We are just implementing one dealing with entrepreneurship and youth and we implement quite a few projects providing informal education.

31. Are there some local agencies/services/organisations performing expert and technical activities connected to the preparation and realization of local economic development projects?

Yes, there are a few services in the region (city agency for development, county agency for development, business incubator technological development centre, local economic development agencies etc.)

32. In what measure is the civil society important in these projects? What are the most important actors of the “civil society”?

In our circumstances civil society helps people in self-organisation and meeting of some needs in an adequate way the solutions for which are not offered by public and private sector.

33. How could you define the relation between the economic development at the local, national, international levels? Is this relation important? Why?

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In the present time this relation is important because there are more and more influences and trends which are not under control of the local stakeholders only.

34. In your opinion, how this relation can influence the positive outcome of a project of local economic development?

It could be both positive or negative, it depends. It could take place in exchange of know- how, technologies, intercultural relations.

35. What are the priorities in your region? And in what sector/s the action of the LDA (but also of the international organizations and NGOs) should be concentrated?

Education (general but also specific such as on EU matters), agriculture, small entrepreneurship, and tourism.

36. Would you like to add something important that I did not ask you and that could be relevant to understand the economic background of the region?

We need clever, well educated, responsible and moral people in order to succeed here on local level but also on European level.

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METHODOLOGY QUESTIONNAIRE MILJENKO TURNISKI

Because it is an important topic connected with local needs. It is the result of the assessment and prioritizing of Local Development Agencies on the spot.

2. What is the objective of this project for your Local Democracy Agency?

To educate trainers in this field in order to provide multiplying effects in the field.

3. What is its objective for the area/region ?

To stimulate and promote local economic development in the city of Osijek and in the wider region.

4. And what is the objective for the Association of Local Democracy Agency? As long as LDAs are not obliged to implement ALDA’s projects, why did you chose to participate in?

Similar objective, to promote ALDA as the association takes care of local economic issues and elements important for local stability, development and prosperity. We chose to participate because we are aware of the importance of this topic for the region.

5. What is the importance/position of this project in the life of the LDA ? ( is the subject a classical one92 or a new one? Is the methodology employed classical or new? And its duration, is it a classical one or a new one?)

92 Classical: typical of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies.

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In a way, it is all new because some post-war topics, such as basic human rights and reconciliation, have improved and there is now space for economic topics.

There was no problems in the implementation in the field, we are present here for a long time already, but at the beginning, there were different expectations and understanding of the project itself.

7. Who was the person responsible for the implementation of the project ? The Delegate or someone else ?

Two trainers (but of course the delegate as well).

8. Are you satisfied with this project? (themes, methodology and relationship between your LDA and ALDA)?

Yes.

9. If yes, what are its strengths ( themes, methodology and/or relations LDA/ALDA) ? Does the positive outcome of this project depend on the elaboration done by ALDA or rather on the concrete realisation done by the LDA ? The topic, which is relevant for the development of the region. The outcome is the result of mutual cooperation of LDA and ALDA.

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11. What did you learn from this experience for the future actions of the Local Democracy Agency and of ALDA? What changes would you make to the methodology of action of ALDA and of the LDAs?

The topic was very welcome in our region and the conclusion could be that it is a good direction of activity.

12. Do you have an evaluation protocol ?

In general, we evaluate each project through internal questionnaires, media coverage and number of participants.

13. If yes, who did elaborate and realise this evaluation protocol?

Trainers and participants.

14. If not, would it have been an important instrument for the realisation of the project ?

Yes and this could be improved.

15. Would you like to add something that I did not ask you and that you consider as important?

No.

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QUESTIONARIO METODOLOGIA ADL VERTENEGLIO

1. Veniamo al « Progetto pilota : Azioni per lo sviluppo economico locale nei Balcani » realizzato dall’Associazione delle Agenzie della Democrazia Locale e cofinanziato dal Ministero degli Affari Esteri francese (DG de la coopération et du développement – Mission pour la coopération non- gouvernementale, décentralisée) nel 2004. Perchè esiste questo progetto ? Da che esigenze deriva?

Il progetto è stato realizzato nel sud della Francia, dove è stato individuato un territorio idoneo per il rilancio delle attività economico-culturali di quel paese.

2. Qual’è l’obiettivo di questo progetto per l’ADL?

L’obiettivo del progetto per quello che riguarda la nostra agenzia è identificare un’area e/o un edificio per la realizzazione di una struttura che verrà denominata « IL MUSEO DEL VINO », il quale comprende la storia culturale e rurale della nostra regione, e che lo stesso progetto certamente sarà di incremento alla valorizzazione culturale del territorio e delle sue specificità.

1. Qual’è l’obiettivo sul campo ?

Il nostro obiettivo si estende a 180° e principalmente si rivolge agli enti istituzionali come potenziali interlocutori e finanziatori del progetto, senza tralasciare in alcun modo il coinvolgimento delle società private che potrebbero essere inserite nel contesto.

2. E qual’è l’obiettivo per ALDA ? Dato che le ADL non sono obbligate ad aderire ai progetti dell’Associazione, perchè ha scelto di farlo ?

Non crediamo che l’ALDA abbia interesse diretto nel progetto, ma certamente il suo obiettivo è la divulgazione del progetto stesso alle varie agenzie dislocate sul territorio della

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3. Che importanza ha questo progetto nella vita dell’ADL? (il soggetto/tema è classico93 o nuovo? La metodologia utilizzata è classica o nuova ? e la durata del progetto, è nuova o classica ?

L’importanza del progetto per l’ ADL è relativo alla sua realizzazione positiva, in quanto l’ADL ne trarrà un vantaggio importantissimo di immagine, ma anche di istituzione idonea per l’individuazione e realizzazione di progetti, sempre che questi vadano a buon fine, ed il paese o la zona dove il progetto viene costruito ne ricavi profitto culturale ed economico. In quanto al soggetto di prevalenza è nuovo, anche perché in genere i progetti vengono elaborati in base alle forme e necessità che vengono individuate nell’ambiente in cui si intende intervenire, ivi comprese la metodologia e la durata.

4. Quali sono le relazioni tra il progetto e il campo ? L’ADL ha avuto difficoltà nell’integrare il progetto sul campo ? il progetto corrispondeva a una domanda della società civile ? la metodologia era comprensibile ?

Il progetto ed il campo di azione convergono, l’integrazione del progetto corrisponde alle richieste in quanto il territorio, o quantomeno il paese, nel quale viene sviluppato il progetto corrisponde perfettamente alla richiesta, poiché si tratta di un progetto economico e culturale che coinvolge anche la società civile, che in un certo senso può essere considerata elemento essenziale, in quanto legata alla storia e la cultura del territorio.

5. Chi, all’interno dell’ADL, era responsabile della realizzazione pratica del progetto ? Il Delegato oppure un’altra persona?

Per la realizzazione del progetto sono coinvolti sia gli addetti della LDA, che l’Ente per il turismo locale; quest’ ultima è una figura istituzionale molto importante per la stesura e realizzazione del progetto.

93 Classico: tipico dell’Associazione delle Agenzie della Democrazia Locale.

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6. E’ soddisfatto di questo progetto (relativamente a tematica, metodologia e relazioni ADL/ALDA) ?

Del progetto siamo soddisfatti anche perché era ed è il fiore all’occhiello per il turismo culturale che si svolge nel nostro paese.

7. Se si, quali sono i suoi punti di forza (sempre in riferimento a tematica, metodologia, relazioni ADL/ALDA) ? Secondo lei, il successo del progetto dipende più dall’elaborazione fatta dall’Associazione oppure dalla realizzazione messa in atto dall’ADL ?

I punti di forza si identificano al punto 8 del presente questionario. E le relazioni ADL/ALDA sono solo marginali, in quanto l’ALDA propone e l’ADL realizza secondo le esigenze che sussistono sul territorio, e pertanto dipende esclusivamente dalla elaborazione progettuale effettuata dall’ADL e dagli eventuali enti collaboratori che la affiancano.

8. Se no, quali sono le sue debolezze ? (tematica, metodologia, relazioni ALDA/ADL)? Secondo lei, la non riuscita del progetto dipende più dall’elaborazione fatta dall’Associazione oppure dalla realizzazione messa in atto dall’ADL ?

Idem al punto 9, dipende sempre dall’ADL, sia il buon risultato del progetto che la non riuscita dello stesso.

9. Che insegnamento può trarre da questo progetto per le azioni future di ALDA e/o ADL ? Quali modifiche apporterebbe alla metodologia d’azione dell’Associazione e delle ADL stesse?

Auspichiamo che per le azioni ALDA/ADL potrebbero sicuramente essere fatte importanti modifiche, essenziali per futuri progetti ! e cioè, invertire le parti : dovrebbe spettare all’ ADL proporre progetti in base alle esigenze che sussistono sul territorio dove esse esercitano. Il ruolo dell’ALDA dovrebbe essere l’esame dei progetti che le ADL elaborano, per poi proporli a finanziatori, stati o enti che siano, per la realizzazione. Questo sarebbe certamente molto più facile e meno dispendioso, sia in termini di tempo che di danaro, per l’esecuzione dei progetti da parte delle stesse ADL.

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10. Come ADL, ha un protocollo di valutazione dei progetti ?

Il protocollo di valutazione viene elaborato a tappe : ricerca, individuazione, comunicazione, necessità di sviluppo sociale del territorio, costi e finanziamenti, coinvolgimento degli enti giuridici, economici e sociali, gruppo di lavoro per la stesura del progetto e sua attuazione.

11. Se si, chi ha elaborato questo protocollo ?

Il protocollo in generale è standard, ma ogni progetto viene elaborato in base alle prospettive che si identificano nello stesso dallo staff che lo mette in opera.

12. Se no, secondo lei avrebbe rappresentato una caratteristica per la realizzazione del progetto ?

Non ci sono risposte.

13. Vuole aggiungere qualcosa che non le ho chiesto e che considera importante?

Una delle cose importanti sarebbe ed è che i progetti vengano studiati ed elaborati dalle ADL locali ognuno individualmente e magari con soggetti diversi, anche perché le tipologie territoriali e le necessità locali per ogni agenzia sono diverse l’una dall’altra e pertanto una tipologia unica di progetto non può essere estesa ugualmente a tutte le ADL; se si vuole raggiungere un ottimo risultato sul campo si deve optare per questa unica soluzione (le ADL redigono ognuna i progetti e l’ALDA provvede a trasmetterli ai potenziali finanziatori internazionali).

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QUESTIONNAIRE M. FRANCOIS FRIEDERICH

Conseil de l’Europe, le 13 mai 2005

1. M. Friederich, quel est votre fonction exacte à l’intérieur de la Direction Générale des Affaires Politiques du Conseil de l’Europe ? Depuis combien de temps vous occupez ce poste et qu’est-ce qui vous a porté à l’accepter ?

Je suis à la DG AP94 depuis 1998 et je suis ce qu’on appelle Conseiller Politique, c'est-à- dire que au sein de la Direction Générale des Affaires Politiques je fais partie de la Direction du Conseil Politique et mon rôle est de faire des analyses politiques sur les différents Etats Membres et moi je m’occupe particulièrement de l’ex-Yougoslavie, des pays de l’ex-Yougoslavie.

2. Quels autres postes avez-vous occupé avant d’arriver au Conseil de l’Europe?

Bon, je commence par le plus ancien après mes études de Sciences Politiques et de droit, assez classiques, j’ai été d’abord Assistant Parlementaire d’un Sénateur français pendant deux ans, qui est devenu ensuite Président de l’Assemblée Parlementaire du Conseil de l’Europe dans les années ’80, après j’ai travaillé pendant 9 ans avec un Député français, donc à l’Assemblée Nationale à Paris, qui était pendant son mandat, pendant que j’étais avec lui, Président de l’Assemblée Parlementaire de l’Europe Occidentale et à partir de 1995, début ’95, j’ai rejoint le programme des ADL, je suis parti début ’95 en Croatie, à Osijek, comme Délégué de l’ADL, en fait le programme démarrait à l’époque donc c’était le premier vraiment opérationnel et j’ai fait ça entre ’95 et ’98, donc pendant 3 ans 3 ans et demi j’étais à Osijek en Croatie et après ça je suis parti, mais là c’était plus une ADL, c’était pour Conseil de l’Europe à Mostar, en Bosnie, où je suis resté également 3 ans à Mostar et Sarajevo puisque j’étais chef du bureau de Mostar et chef adjoint du bureau de Sarajevo et toute l’année 2001 je l’ai passée à Belgrade comme chef du bureau du Conseil de l’Europe à Belgrade jusqu’à la

94 DG AP: abréviation pour Direction Générale des Affaires Politiques.

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fin, pendant toute l’année 2002 début 2001, non, 2001 et en début 2002 je suis revenu à Strasbourg et c’est là qu’on m’a confié donc le desk Balkans.

3. Ce qui m’intéresse le plus là c’est la situation économique de la région, donc de la Croatie, donc ma question est : en tant que Délégué de l’ADL de Osijek, quels projets avez-vous réalisé si vous en avez réalisés ? Et est-ce que c’était des projets de développement économique local ? si oui, lesquels ? Ont-ils eu des conséquences positives, par exemple la création d’entreprises et/ou le développement d’une activité économique particulière ?

Bon, moi j’ai été à Osijek…je suis arrivé là-bas en ’95 et suis reparti en ’98, pendant ces trois années là, surtout au début, étant que, donc la guerre n’était pas encore finie, puisque quand je suis arrivé une grande partie du territoire croate était encore occupée par des forces séparatistes serbes, on appelait ça des « Krajinas » et la ville de Osijek elle-même était dans ce qu’on appelait la Slavonie Orientale et c’était une ville qui était encerclée des trois côtés, des trois côtés elle était occupée et même les quartiers de la ville qui étaient occupés qui faisaient partie de ce qu’on appelait à l’époque la Krajina, la République de Krajina Srpska et donc forcément l’économie de la ville s’en ressentait parce que tous les secteurs, toutes les zones industrielles avaient été soit détruites soient étaient occupées, les usines ont été pillées par les Serbes donc l’économie était par terre, plus personne ne travaillait à ce moment là, évidemment aucun investisseur étranger ne se risquait dans la région, donc c’était vraiment une région sinistrée d’un point de vue aussi économique, d’un point de vue social, humain de toute façon à tel point qu’il y avait aussi des problèmes d’alimentation et énergie on n’avait pas assez d’électricité à l’époque, il y avait [comme au Kosovo maintenant] exactement c’est comparable [parce que j’ai été au Kosovo avec Dorothee et on avait tout le temps…] ils sont encore là, c’était comme ça à l’époque, les transports publics fonctionnaient très peu, manque d’électricité, les services publics on n’avait qu’un minimum de services publics qui fonctionnaient donc la situation était, d’un point de vue économique, vraiment vraiment désastreuse. On a eu ensuite bon les opérations en Croatie de libération des territoires occupés, d’abord en mai ’95 une première opération de l’Armée Croate sur la région de Slavonie Occidentale qui était à 80 km au sud de Zagreb que les Croates ont libérée en chassant les forces serbes et les….serbes aussi il faut le dire , il y a eu ensuite en été ’95 les opérations dans la région de Knin donc dans le centre et dans le sud de la Croatie, également et on s’ attendait après la libération de ces deux territoires à une

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Annexes, questionnaire Mr. François Friederich troisième offensive de l’Armée Croate pour libérer la région voisine de Osijek donc la région de Vukovar donc à la fois une région sur le Danube entre Vukovar, entre la frontière hongroise et la frontière serbe, tout ce qui est cette région là. Bon finalement il y a eu des « pour parler » et des pressions sur Tudjman à l’époque, le Président Tudjman pour qu’il accepte une solution négociée dans cette région-là pour éviter une opération militaire et encore d’avantage les réfugiés etcetera puisque le résultat des opérations de libération du mois de mai et du mois de juillet ’95 avaient été quelque chose comme 400.000 réfugiés serbes qui ont été chassés du pays, qui sont partis la plupart en Serbie, bon et là on voulait absolument éviter que ça se reproduise dans cette région là et donc il y a eu des négociations avec la médiation des Nations Unies et on a décidé pendant…c’était les Accords d’air d’août, on a appelé ça les Accords d’airs d’août qui sont intervenus à peu près au même moment que les accords de Dayton pour la Bosnie fin ’95, de placer ce territoire, ce dernier territoire qui échappait le contrôle de Zagreb de le placer sous administration transitoire des Nations Unies et donc une mission de paix qui a été créée des Nations Unies qui s’appelait l’UNTAS, United Nations Transitional Authority Slavonia et dont le rôle était de préparer la réintégration de ce territoire à la Croatie. Bon, ce qui fait que en fait ça ne changeait pas grande chose à la situation de la ville de Osijek d’un point de vue économique parce que tout ce territoire qui était voisin de la ville de Osijek, un territoire très riche, c’était le territoire des grandes exploitations agricoles, c’est une région essentiellement agricole [c’était l’une des questions qui suivaient] pour la ville ça ne changeait rien puisqu’ elle n’avait pas toujours accès à cette région-là, bon cela a duré quand même presque deux ans jusqu’en début ’98 pour que le territoire soit restitué à la Croatie et qu’on puisse recommencer vraiment, commencer à reconstruire l’économie dans la région. Et d’un point de vue économique la guerre surtout dans la région de Vukovar et d’Osijek, tout cela est très proche 40 km entre Osijek et Vukovar, il y avait à Vukovar de très grandes entreprises qui avaient été totalement détruites et qui n’ont jamais été reconstruites, il y avait notamment une, la plus grande entreprise, fabrique de chaussures etcetera de Yougoslavie qui s’appelle, qui faisait partie, qui en fait avant la Yougoslavie était SINBATA qui avait été nationalisée par Tito elle a été totalement détruite elle embauchait 20.000 personnes [on ne l’a plus reconstruite après ?] non on ne l’a plus reconstruite après ; il y avait un grand port sur le Danube à Vukovar qui n’a jamais été reconstruit [même pas à présent, même pas maintenant je veux dire] non non, l’économie n’est pas repartie vraiment dans cette région et les grandes industries qui existaient là de l’époque yougoslave n’ont pas été

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Annexes, questionnaire Mr. François Friederich reconstruites d’abord parce qu’il n’y avait pas de capitaux pour reconstruire, ensuite c’étaient des entreprises publiques qui appartenaient à la Yougoslavie , la Yougoslavie a cessé d’exister donc on savait plus à qui appartenaient ces entreprises, à l’Etat mais l’Etat qui était propriétaire a disparu et en plus la Yougoslavie a perdu les marchés puisque la Yougoslavie exportait beaucoup vers les autres pays socialistes et ces autres pays socialistes pendant que la Yougoslavie était en guerre pendant toutes ces années ’90, eh ben ces pays, eux, se sont démocratisés, se sont ouverts aux marchés de l’ouest etcetera, il y a eu des investisseurs étrangers et finalement ils ont plus besoin de la Yougoslavie, la Yougoslavie pendant toute la période communiste avait le rôle d’intermédiaire entre l’est et l’ouest en matière économique, vous savez, et ce rôle a disparu et ils ont perdu énormément d’opportunités pendant toutes ces années de guerre d’un point de vue économique et les pays voisins ont plus besoin de la Yougoslavie et des produits yougoslaves, ils ont commencé à produire eux-mêmes parce que des investisseurs européens, étrangers dans les pays voisins en Hongrie, Roumanie, Bulgarie en fait tous les voisins de la ex-Yougoslavie ont appris à survivre ou à vivre sans les produits yougoslaves qu’ils emportaient massivement avant et ça c’est encore un problème maintenant pour la Serbie, pour la Croatie, ils ont perdu les marchés et ces marchés ils les retrouveront pas. Et par ailleurs, ce qui est aussi un problème pour l’économie régionale de Osijek mais en fait pour toutes les Républiques d’ex-Yougoslavie c’est que ce sont maintenant de petits Etats qui se sont succédés à un Etat relativement grand qui était la Yougoslavie, qui était un marché de 22 millions d’habitants et maintenant tout cela est morcelé, sont devenues de petits Etats, la Croatie est devenue un petit Etat mais elle s’en sort encore bien mais si on voit la Bosnie, la Serbie- Monténégro, bon ils produisaient à la manière socialiste, c'est-à-dire que chaque région avait de très grosses unités de production pour un marché national, pour un marché régional en Sud Est de l’Europe et qui sont maintenant totalement inadaptées, obsolètes [bien sûr] donc voilà [oui parce que souvent on pense un peu, au moins pour moi que qui suis italienne, on pense à la Croatie comme à un région assez riche si on regarde les côtes] oui oui [mais en fait je pense qu’à l’intérieur c’est vraiment un autre monde mais ça disons a plusieurs parts, voilà, c’est pour ça aussi que je voulais un peu savoir] non, parce que ce qu’on connaît de la Croatie en effet c’est l’Istrie, la Côte Dalmate, qui grâce au tourisme sont maintenant beaucoup plus prospères, ensuite il y a la région de Zagreb à cause de la proximité de la Hongrie et maintenant de l’Union Européenne puisque la Hongrie et la Slovénie, ils sont des proches, je veux dire la frontière slovène, elle est peut être à 20 km de Zagreb, bon là il y a le fait de la proximité de l’Union

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Européenne maintenant pour Zagreb c’est un facteur de développement mais le reste du pays a encore beaucoup de chemin à faire pour retrouver le niveau de vie qui était le sien avant la guerre.

4. Oui, donc, vous m’avez dit en fait que le secteur le plus développé était le secteur agricole [bon, si on parle de la région] de la région de Osijek, est-ce que vous parliez des raisons strictement du territoire ou il y avait d’autres raisons, je veux dire c’était juste les ressources naturelles qui…

Oui, c’était un peu le grenier à blé de l’ex-Yougoslavie, toute cette plaine du Danube était, est toujours très fertile et en fait nourrit l’ensemble du pays pendant toute l’ère communiste et Osijek a toujours été un centre d’abord agricole mais ensuite aussi d’industrie agro- alimentaire, sur les bords du Danube on a produit et on continue à produire du vin, beaucoup de vin et c’est aussi une très grande région pour les céréales etcetera maintenant le problème c’est que évidemment que, comme je vous ai dit tout à l’heure, les marché ont un peu disparu, les voisins sont allés se fournir ailleurs, dans d’autres pays, la Croatie et surtout la région de Osijek produit beaucoup de sucre, mais bon il y a une surproduction de sucre en Europe avec l’intégration à l’Union Européennes de beaucoup de pays voisins qui auparavant apportaient du sucre d’Ukraine où de je ne sais où et voilà maintenant font partie de l’Union Européenne,et donc ils sont intégrés et donc la Croatie a du mal à écouler par les eaux de sa production de sucre, ils ont perdu le marché, mais bon il reste qu’il a actuellement, depuis des années d’ailleurs quand même, il y a toute une restructuration qui se fait dans l’agriculture pour qu’elle devienne également plus rentable parce qu’auparavant pendant l’ère communiste tout ça c’était des fermes collectives et comme dans tous les pays d’économie socialiste collective,bon forcément la production n’était pas celle qu’elle peut être dans un système d’exploitation privée, d’exploitation d’abord plus petite et ensuite avec des méthodes bien plus modernes d’exploitation et donc maintenant il y a eu un système de privatisation dans l’agriculture qui fait que, bon, le secteur agricole commence quand même à redémarrer, également à se diversifier pour répondre à une nouvelle demande aussi bien nationale que régionale.

5. Bon, vous avez déjà répondu un peu à cette question, en fait ma question était s’il y avait eu des changements importants du point de vue du développement économique local pendant que vous étiez Délégué, donc entre ’95 et ’98, et si oui, enfin s’il y en a eu, grâce à quel facteurs.

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A l’époque il y avait pas grande chose, c’était de petites initiatives qu’on a essayé de mettre en place à travers des partenariats de l’ADL par exemple, il y avait des micro projets on appelait ça, en fait c’était des micro projets économiques pour essayer d’aider les gens à redémarrer une activité et avoir un revenu de subsistance donc ça c’était des projets qu’on faisait essentiellement pour les populations réfugiées et on faisait ça dès que...on peut pas appeler ça des capitaux vraiment mais on avait mis en place avec un prof d’économie de Osijek, on avait mis un système en place de micro crédit, bon maintenant ça existe partout à l’époque ça commençait à exister en Europe, qui permettait à des gens, je sais pas moi, d’emprunter par exemple un maximum de 20.000 ou 10.000 Euro 20.000 Mark c’était à l’époque, donc 10.000 Euro aujourd’hui, pour permettre de redémarrer une petite activité, on a aidé des gens comme ça à redémarrer par exemple, on avait un très bon programme là-dessus, dans la région de Vukovar il y avait une boulangerie industrielle qui produisait du pain pour toute la région. Elle était détruite. La région de Vukovar produit beaucoup de céréales, beaucoup de blé mais il y avait plus de boulangeries et pas de boulangers. On était obligés de faire venir du pain industriel d’autres régions du pays alors qu’on était dans un secteur où l’on produisait du blé et donc grâce à des partenariats suisses notamment de Lausanne, on a réussi à mettre en place un système de micro crédit pour permettre à des gens d’ouvrir des boulangeries privées. Et ça a très très bien fonctionné puisque et les gens qu’on avait vus à l’époque sont toujours là, sont des gens qui travaillaient auparavant dans cette usine de pain industriel à Vukovar qui avait été détruite et qui avaient le savoir faire, qui étaient des boulangers professionnels et ben on leur a donné le minimum de capital qu’il aurait été nécessaire pour s’équiper et très rapidement ils ont commencé à produire du pain, à avoir un revenu, etcetera donc et là c’était quelque chose d’absolument logique parce que dans une région on produit du blé et de la farine, ne pas avoir de boulangers était un non-sens et donc, bon ça évidemment ça a permis à quelques familles d’avoir de nouveau un revenu, ça a permis à l’ensemble de cette ville, Vukovar, d’avoir à nouveau, de nouveau pouvoir acheter du pain frais produit sur place, mais à l’époque on pouvait pas envisager beaucoup plus d’autres d’autres expériences de développement de redémarrage économique, il y en a eu d’autres ensuite, par la suite toujours via l’ADL avec des partenaires, des partenariats de villes ou de régions qui font partie du réseau des ADL, on a essayé de redémarrer également la production viticole et là on a eu des producteurs de vin italiens de la région proche de Venise qui sont venus pour conseiller les producteurs locaux, donc ça été plutôt des échanges d’expériences que des investissements et par la suite il y a

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Annexes, questionnaire Mr. François Friederich eu des investissements, il y a eu des crédits de la Banque Européenne de Reconstruction, mais ça est venu par la suite, là dans les années ’95, ’98 c’était ce genre d’échange d’expériences, on a également eu plusieurs opérations humanitaires en faveur des agriculteurs de la région ou des agriculteurs ouest européens, on envoyait du matériel, des tracteurs, des outils, des machines, etcetera, pour pouvoir redémarrer une activité.

6. D’accord, donc à ce propos ma question suivante était justement [j’anticipe les questions],oui un peu, donc quelle a été l’importance dans ce processus des Institutions Internationales, des ONG internationales et des investissements étrangers justement et, en même temps l’importance par exemple des autorités locales, des ONG locales et des investissements locaux, s’il y en avait bien sûr parce que je pense que pour les gens sur place, bon, ils avaient pas beaucoup d’argent à investir, donc…

Bon, à cette époque là, toujours dans les années ’95-’98, à cette époque là c’était histoire qu’on pouvait trouver des capitaux soit privés soit même des aides économiques internationales pour ce régions là. Ces régions là étaient, à ce moment là, pratiquement d’abord au début encore en guerre et ensuite la priorité c’était surtout reconstruire, reconstruire des maisons, reconstruire les habitations pour permettre aux gens de revenir. Moi, quand je suis arrivé là-bas il y avait encore des milliers des gens qui vivaient dans des centres collectifs, donc des camps de réfugiés et la priorité c’était d’abord de trouver un toit pour ces gens-là, donc de reconstruire l’habitat, les infrastructures, il fallait reconstruire refaire restaurer réparer les systèmes électriques, d’eau, etcetera reconstruire les routes, donc au départ les investissements et l’aide internationale étaient surtout destinés à ça pour permettre aux réfugiés de vivre de rentrer chez eux et de vivre dans des conditions décentes. Et c’est seulement après qu’on a commencé à chercher des moyens de redémarrer le secteur économique et là on s’est heurté à des problèmes, bon il fallait des capitaux, il fallait des investisseurs et il y avait trop peu d’investisseurs étrangers et comme dit, comme on était issus d’un système d’économie socialiste il y avait pas de petites entreprises et les grandes entreprises avaient été détruites et il y avait pas moyen de les restaurer donc il y a eu un démarrage très lent de transition pour passer d’un système économique socialiste, d’économie dirigée à un système d’économie de marché. Donc on a eu non seulement le problème d’absence de capitaux mais aussi de transition entre deux systèmes économiques et ça a pris du temps et a été également une période assez trouble

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Annexes, questionnaire Mr. François Friederich d’un point de vue économique parce que pas mal de gens ont profité, ont essayé de profiter de cette période d’immédiat après-guerre pour détourner les fonds de l’aide internationale, pour faire du trafic vers la Serbie puisqu’à l’époque la Serbie était sous embargo, toute sorte de trafic, des trafic d’armes, de carburant, de voitures, sans parler du trafic d’êtres humains, donc c’était une période aussi où il y avait une grande, pas mal de gens enfin, il y avait quand même pas mal de gens qui participaient plus ou moins à l’économie grise, les choses étaient vraiment pas claires. Et à travers, je vous ai dit, il y avait des micro projets mis en place de manière assez modeste mais quand même c’était le début de quelque chose, d’un redémarrage par des programmes comme par le programme des ADL ou des villes, on travaillait beaucoup avec l’ANCI Veneto d’Italie [moi je viens de cette région] donc avec la région pas de Venise même mais les alentours, les Suisses de Lausanne, on avait également des gens des Pays Bas de la région de Utrecht qui ont permis de démarrer quelques petits projets, tout cela était très modeste, l’aide est venue surtout après, l’aide internationale [au début c’était surtout je pense une aide humanitaire, moi j’étais jeune mais je me souviens il y avait beaucoup de convois qui partaient d’Italie et justement surtout de l’aide humanitaire pour les réfugiés] oui, il fallait aider les réfugiés, ensuite il fallait les reconstruire et une que ça c’était fait on a pu se lancer dans des micro projets, on a comme ça aussi aidé à Pakrac, Pakrac est en Serbie occidentale, on a là-bas aussi trouvé des partenaires, je sais plus si c’était suisses ou italiens, mais en tout cas qui ont permis de démarrer une activité d’élevage de poules, donc il fabriquaient, enfin il produisaient des œufs, des poulets, etcetera comme on n’était pas loin de Zagreb il y avait un marché de la ville de Zagreb et là c’est pareil c’est à travers, ça coûte pas cher surtout au départ, et là c’était des investisseurs je pense italiens qui étaient venus, donc il y avait ce genre de, mais ça a pas permis de donner des emplois à des centaines de milliers de gens, ça l’a permis dans une petite municipalité comme Pakrac de redonner à quelques dizaines de personnes un emploi et donc un revenu mais c’était de petites opérations comme ça, il y a eu aussi ailleurs on a commencé à fabriquer du fromage, tout ça parce que des suisses de la région de…..sont venus là et ont dit voilà comment on fabrique des fromages, etcetera, ont formé les gens, ont ramené quelques personnes en Suisse où il y a une école de fromage du côté de Lausanne, donc ils ont formé des gens là-bas en Suisse qui quand ils sont rentrés ont commencé une activité fabrique de fromage, mais ça allait pas très loin et de toute façon notre niveau était trop modeste au niveau des ADL pour pourvoir démarrer ce genre de choses.

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7. Bon, à ce propos, comment vous pouvez définir le développement économique local ? Comment vous le définiriez ? En général, si vous me donnez une définition de développement économique local, ce que vous voulez dire avec ça ?

Je ne sais pas…je pense c’est très vaste [je sais, si je vous dis ça vous pensez à quoi, voilà] à différents facteurs, le développement économique local ce serait d’abord le développement, c’est d’abord lié à la présence d’un certain nombre de facilités, d’infrastructures qui permettent à des entreprises, à des producteurs de produire dans de bonnes conditions, je veux dire l’un des grands soucis qu’on avait par exemple à Osijek c’était que c’était une région enclavée, le port de Osijek et le port de Vukovar sur le Danube qui avaient été permis l’exportation de leurs productions ont été détruits, l’aéroport de Osijek qui existait avant guerre n’a jamais été reconstruit, donc il n’y a plus d’avions qui atterrissent à Osijek, donc bon s’il y avait un aéroport et si le port de Osijek et de Vukovar ces deux ports là étaient reconstruits, on aurait davantage d’éléments de développement local, de développement économique local [et il y a des projets par rapport à ça ?] non [non, pas du tout ?] non parce que il n’y a pas d’intérêt, il y a pas [il y a pas d’argent non plus] il y a pas d’argent bon mais il a pas non plus d’intérêt pour re-ouvrir un aéroport dans cette ville qui était auparavant au milieu du pays pratiquement de l’ex-Yougoslavie, à 150 km de Belgrade et qui maintenant est à une frontière perdue au fond du pays.

8. A votre avis, quelle est l’importance de la société civile dans un processus de développement économique local ?

Je crois que, bon, c’est extrêmement important et pareil moi, l’une des choses qui m’avaient frappé en arrivant là-bas c’est que il y avait pratiquement pas de société civile, pas de société civile vraiment active ou qui s’exprimait sur ce qui se passait et les rares ONG qui existaient à l’époque étaient des ONG de défense des droits des réfugiés, défense des droits de l’homme et étaient vues par les autorités comme des gens suspects, des traîtres à la cause nationale etcetera et une des choses qu’on a essayé de monter c’était de provoquer, de favoriser le dialogue au sein de la société, on a monté dans le cadre des ADL, ensuite elle s’est développée dans toutes les ADL on a commencé là un concept qui s’appelait Ecole de la Société Civile, c'est-à-dire qu’on organisait pour tous les gens qui s’en intéressaient des espèce de forums de discussion sur des thèmes précis qui pouvaient être, je sais pas moi,

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Annexes, questionnaire Mr. François Friederich l’avenir européen du pays, la liberté de la presse mais aussi et surtout il y avait beaucoup de discussions à l’époque sur la transition aussi bien d’un système politique à un autre que ce qu’on voulait dire par passer d’une économie dirigiste à une économie de marché et là parce que l’enseignement supérieur n’avait pas encore suivi l’évolution qui était nécessaire pour enseigner vraiment, sais pas moi, les commerces, les écoles de commerce d’abord il y en avait pas où alors elles étaient vraiment marquées par le passé socialiste et donc on a un peu nous pris le relais avec ces affaires de l’Ecole de la Société Civile qui diffusait un certain nombre d’informations, de connaissances, facilitait des échanges etcetera entre des acteurs ou des futurs acteurs économiques et des partenaires étrangers qui étaient disponibles, disposés à les assister pour monter des projets et là il y avait un rôle tout à fait positif, ce que je vous disait tout à l’heure,les micro projets qu’on a pu mettre en place dans la région ça a toujours été avec des acteurs soit associatifs soit d’échanges de villes et régions d’autres pays on n’est jamais passés par des structures gouvernementales ou par les grandes organisations internationales, au début tout ça c’était de petites initiatives très modestes mais qui se faisaient au niveau d’une société civile naissante.

9. Et donc vous dites aussi que les institutions locales, elles voyaient pas bien disons les ONG, ces associations qui étaient en train de naître…

Ah non non non non, on était vus comme des, on était vus comme des comme pratiquement, bon pas par le Maire de Osijek et son équipe, c’est pour ça qu’on avait mis l’ADL là-bas parce que on avait un Maire qui était ouvert et qui faisait preuve d’une certaine tolérance, mais si non on avait des autorités de la région ou le Préfet qui lui était un extrémiste nationaliste croate et pour lui d’abord tout ce qui venait de l’étranger et tout ce qui était associatif, société civile, on était vus comme vraiment les ennemis et on a eu des histoire incroyables, je sais que notre téléphone était sous écoute tout le temps, on travaillait on écrivait dans un journal local d’opposition,un mensuel ehm un hebdomadaire toutes les semaines j’avais ma chronique, qui s’appelait Sous les étoiles Européennes, où j’écrivais de petits commentaires, de petites analyses sur ce qui se passait, des chroniques sur les événements du moment et bon on a été à plusieurs reprises victimes d’agressions, y compris physiques de la part des gens du Préfet parce que on était vus comme des gens de l’opposition, on était accusés d’être des yougo-nostalgiques et des choses comme ça [et ça vous est arrivé aussi ?] bien sûr on s’est fait casser la gueule par des types là-bas [ah] non non

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Annexes, questionnaire Mr. François Friederich on a eu des histoires assez mémorables parce que on essayait de travailler avec des gens qui refusaient le processus ou tout cet enseignement guerrier dans le pays, ce nationalisme ambiant et disons heureusement des ONG, notamment une grande ONG à Osijek qui s’appelle le Centre pour la Paix avec lesquels on travaillait et on essayait d’organiser le dialogue entre des gens de différentes communautés, et à l’époque c’était très très mal vu même d’adresser la parole à un serbe dans cette région et donc les gens, les associations y en avaient très peu, y avait une association surtout à Osijek qui s’appelait le Centre pour la Paix, y avait une association de réfugiés de Bosnie et une association de femmes et c’était à peu près tout ce qui existait dans la région à ce moment là et elles étaient très très mal vues par les autorités locales. Nous on travaillait avec elles et du coup on était très mal vus. J’ai eu des pressions, à l’époque j’avais organisé une conférence sur la liberté de la presse et j’ai eu des pressions incroyables même du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères de Zagreb qui me menaçait de m’expulser du pays si je persistais dans mon intention d’organiser cette conférence, on l’a faite quand même, on l’a faite quand même, et on a eu quelqu’un du Ministère qui est venu pour bien dire combien la Croatie est un pays qui respecte la liberté de la presse etcetera, bon c’était pas vrai puisque nous qui écrivions dans un petit journal local on se faisait agresser parce qu’on critiquait les autorités locales mais ça c’était, ça c’était dans l’ordre du moment, heureusement ça a changé, ça a changé avec la mort de Tudjman et donc maintenant bon on en est heureusement plus là mais à l’époque où la Croatie n’était pas membre du Conseil de l’Europe, elle était pas liée par toute une série de conventions, la guerre était pas finie en Bosnie, la Croatie était engagée dans la guerre en Bosnie donc bon il faut se replacer dans le contexte, mais bon c’était un contexte, c’était le contexte du moment.

10. Donc, en revenant sur le développement économique local, quels sont, c’est juste une liste, quels sont à votre avis les facteurs et les acteurs principaux ?

Bon, il faut, à mon avis de développement économique local il y a deux acteurs principaux : d’une part les autorités locales et d’autre part des entrepreneurs locaux, il faut pas que les deux se confondent, on a souvent eu ça dans la région et ça continue encore. Ou les autorités locales ou les gens au pouvoir essaient de se lancer également dans les affaires et confondent un peu l’exercice du pouvoir politique à l’échelle locale et le monde des affaires et quand on a eu ça on a eu des problèmes de corruption, etcetera et qui ont été forcément

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Annexes, questionnaire Mr. François Friederich néfastes au développement local donc je crois qu’il faut une bonne séparation ; les autorités doivent créer des conditions pour permettre à des entrepreneurs d’investir et de travailler mais elles ne doivent pas se mêler [dans la gestion] dans la gestion et elles doivent pas essayer de placer des gens dans des entreprises, de tirer des profits des entreprises, on a eu ça malheureusement, beaucoup et ça continue encore dans beaucoup de régions où il y a des confusions comme je vous l’ai dit néfastes entre les deux, et je veux dire les régions qui se développent économiquement sont celles où il y a un environnement politique disons transparent, on a une classe politique intègre, une classe politique honnête, là les investisseurs se sentent en confiance et viennent et entreprennent, créent des entreprises, créent des emplois ; l’un des problèmes par exemple du pays voisin qui est la Bosnie actuellement et depuis dix ans, c’est qu’il y a une très grande opacité entre les pouvoirs à tous les niveaux de l’Etat comme du niveau local et le secteur économique, beaucoup trop d’intérêts de certains hommes politiques dans de grandes entreprises en Bosnie qui fait que bon la Bosnie est comme un pays corrompu et où les investisseurs étrangers sont pas intéressés de venir autant qu’il y a pas, en Croatie c’est plus tellement le cas, en Croatie ils ont compris maintenant qu’ils devaient passer à l’économie de marché et que s’ils voulaient continuer vers l’accession à l’Union Européenne il fallait que ce type de pratique, de confusion entre le politique et l’économique surtout à niveau local, il fallait qu’ils mettent fin, enfin ils ont compris, on avance.

11. Justement l’autre question concernait le rapport entre le développement économique international et local ? Donc est-ce que à votre avis, est-ce qu’il est important le lien entre les deux ? et dans quelle mesure peut-il affecter la réussite d’un projet de développement par exemple ?

Ben, c’est clair que si il y a un environnement international qui est favorable, ça en profite également le développement économique local. Si, par exemple dans le cas de la Croatie aussi longtemps qu’on avait, et c’est pas encore tout à fait réglé, mais aussi longtemps que la Croatie était entourée de pays comme la Serbie ou la Bosnie en crise ou avant en guerre etcetera dans un contexte économique régional c’était évidemment pas propice ou pas favorable au développement économique, bon depuis que les choses se sont calmées dans la région la Croatie profite de la paix dans la région, de la stabilité dans la région, et de la normalisation de ses relation avec ses voisins, ça c’est surtout vrai pour une région comme la région de Osijek comme je vous l’ai dit un peu coincée maintenant à une frontière avec

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12. Donc bon je sais que vous vous occupez maintenant plutôt des affaires politiques justement mais est-ce que, enfin qu’est-ce que vous pensez par rapport à la situation actuelle, parce que ça m’intéresse beaucoup la situation à Osijek puisque je vais faire un cas d’étude sur trois agences en fait, notamment Gjilan au Kosovo, l’agence du Monténégro et l’agence de Osijek. Donc, bon, c’était très bien parce que vous avez bien défini la situation pendant la période où vous étiez là-bas et comment croyez –vous que la situation évoluera disons, parce qu’en dix ans ça a beaucoup changé…

Ça a beaucoup changé et du fait de la fin de la guerre d’abord, de la normalisation des relations avec les voisins parce qu’il y a quand même eu tout un chemin de faits surtout entre Belgrade et Zagreb et aussi entre Zagreb et Sarajevo donc maintenant il y a eu une normalisation des relations, les frontières sont de nouveau ouvertes entre tous ces pays là, il y a des programmes de coopération transfrontalière qui sont en place entre Osijek et la région de Novi Sad, Subotica, Vojvodine et de l’autre côté et aussi la région de Tuzla, aussi avec la Hongrie, donc là maintenant on est depuis plusieurs années dans une logique de développement transfrontalier et qui est extrêmement bénéfique à tous les partenaires, surtout à Osijek et ça c’est un affaire qu’on avait mise en place, cette affaire transfrontalière on l’a mis en place dans le cadre de l’ADL, c’est nous vraiment qui avions démarré cette affaire là et l’ADL continue être un des partenaires principaux de cette coopération transfrontalière et c’est clair que le fait que maintenant la Hongrie qui est voisine de Osijek fait partie de l’Union Européenne et que quand même la Croatie se dirige aussi assez rapidement vers une accession à l’Union Européenne tout ça ce sont que des facteurs encourageants pour le développement de la région donc on peut être que raisonnablement mais tout de même optimistes pour le développement futur de la région.

13. Bon une demande un peu plus spécifique, je ne sais pas si vous connaissez ça donc justement, est-ce que vous connaissez le « Projet pilote : Actions pour le développement local dans les Balkans » mis en place par l’Association des Agences de la Démocratie Locale et cofinancé par le Ministère des Affaires Etrangères de France (en particulier c’est DG de la coopération et

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du développement – Mission pour la coopération non- gouvernementale, décentralisée) ? Et si vous le connaissez , si vous le trouvez efficace.

Non, je sais que ça existe mais je sais pas, j’ai aucun élément pour porter un jugement sur les résultats de cette initiative, mais je sais que ça été mis en place tout récemment [oui, ça s’est terminé en janvier 2005, le rapport ] mais malheureusement là-dessus j’ai pas de…

14. Bon, une question un peu plus, la dernière question un peu plus générale, quels changements apporteriez-vous à la méthodologie d’action de l’Association où des ADL vu que vous connaissez bien la région, les potentialités, les risques, les problèmes et également les responsabilités et défis d’un Délégué sur le terrain vu que vous connaissez , vous avez occupé cette position et maintenant vous êtes en dehors donc vous pouvez peut être juger de manière un peu plus détachée la situation….

Moi, je crois que l’une des choses dans laquelle les ADL devraient évoluer c’est davantage de coopération entre elles. Et là je parle surtout surtout de la Bosnie, mais c’est vrai être vrai aussi en Croatie, mais disons surtout en Bosnie. Ce qu’on essaie de faire, ce que la communauté internationale, ce que nous, on essaie de faire au Conseil de l’Europe, à niveau peut être politique, c’est de contribuer à consolider le processus démocratique dans ces pays là et là je pense surtout à la Bosnie et là l’une des choses pour le faire, bon, c’est la normalisation des relations entre les différentes communautés c’est arriver à ce que les serbes, les croates, les bosniaques en Bosnie cessent de vivre, de raisonner et de penser en termes de communautés mais finissent pas devenir des citoyens d’un seul pays quelle que soit leur appartenance ethnique donc dépasser un peu cette séparation ethnique et à mon avis ça passe pas une plus grande coopération entre municipalités, au de là des entités. Donc c’est cette coopération entre municipalités qu’on essaie, nous ici au Conseil et notamment à la DG AP de favoriser, on a eu le mois dernier en Bosnie, une conférence sur un sujet, sur ce sujet-là sur le développement de la démocratie locale qui passe par : d’abord, une plus grande coopération entre municipalités, la mise en place de régions économiques donc une organisation du pays selon des critères non plus ethniques mais plutôt économiques et une plus grande participation des citoyens. Et moi je trouve que les ADL travaillent un peu trop actuellement, mais bon c’est le résultat de l’histoire du programme, c’est pas forcément des critiques, mais travaillent trop actuellement chacune

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Annexes, questionnaire Mr. François Friederich que les ADL soient davantage partenaires de programmes qu’on peut faire comme ça au Conseil qui sont des programmes de société civile eh, qui sont pas des programmes qu’on fait de, intergouvernementaux, là on travaille vraiment à niveau local, à niveau de la société civile [et c’est surtout la DG AP qui s’occupe de ça ?] oui, oui ça c’est moi qui les faits ces trucs là, ça fait trois ans ou deux ans, deux ans et demi que je travaille là-dessus, y a des programmes qu’on finance avec d’autres divisions, des ONG et la société civile, et on finance d’ailleurs on finance l’ADL de Gjilan, c’est une division à projets, je crois que…[justement je vais faire une entrevue avec Stève aussi, on a déjà pas mal parlé des projets et tout ça mais justement je vais choisir trois ADL donc notamment les délégués que je connais personnellement, donc ça va être plus facile de d’avoir [vous allez sur place ?] non, ils vont venir fin mai pour la session du Congrès des Pouvoirs Locaux et Régionaux donc on va en parler, bon je les ai rencontrés à Gjilan déjà donc on a parlé un petit peu et entre temps je voulais justement avoir aussi d’autres sources pour me faire une idée aussi avant de poser des question et…]c’est un bon programme ehn je veux dire au départ quand on s’est lancés là-dedans Osijek était, non la toute première c’était à Subotica mais on n’a jamais pu travailler vraiment à Subotica à l’époque puisque Milosevic nous a virés, donc on s’est repliés sur Osijek et mais à l’époque on savait pas, personne de nous n’aurait cru que dix douze ans après on aurait ça encore. Et comment comment vous êtes arrivé en fait aux ADL parce que je sais qu’au début c’était un projet du Conseil de l’Europe, donc est-ce que vous étiez déjà au Conseil de l’Europe et alors… Ben oui, puis avec mes activités d’assistant parlementaire j’étais en même temps secrétaire d’un groupe parlementaire ici, j’étais secrétaire du groupe du PPE à l’Assemblée Parlementaire donc [vous étiez dans le milieu] oui voilà j’étais dans le milieu et j’avais été moi- même pas mal impliqué dans des projets humanitaires en Alsace puisque je suis strasbourgeois pour la ex-Yougoslavie [oui je sais qu’il y avait beaucoup d’associations] oui voilà moi j’étais j’étais de toute façon dans tout ce secteur là, je suis rétractif et quand j’ai entendu parler de ce programme on m’a dit « écoute, on cherche quelqu’un pour aller là-bas et rester là-bas, est-ce que tu es assez fou pour y aller ? on sait pas si ça va durer trois mois trois ans trois jours » j’ai dit « oui, je tente le coup » et je suis allé et voilà, ça continue d’exister, mais rien que ça la preuve qu’on a réussi à adapter à un programme les ADL, d’un programme qui était presque une activité ou un programme humanitaire maintenant c’est devenu partenaire de développement local, ça évolué,ça montre que c’est quand même un programme qui [qui s’adapte] a une capacité d’adaptation et quand on a commencé on était tout petit, quelque uns et je me rappelle, il faudra pas lui dire, Antonella, Antonella elle est

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Annexes, questionnaire Mr. François Friederich rentrée là-dedans un jour j’étais invité en Italie, je sais plus dans la région du Veneto quelque part à une conférence avec Martini qui étai déjà là et j’avais besoin d’un interprète et ils ont fait venir Antonella qui traduisait ce que je racontais et après on a été au déjeuner officiel, elle était encore à côté de moi et me dit c’est vachement intéressant et comme ça [elle était délégué aussi je pense,non ?] oui elle était délégué à Sisak, à l’époque on cherchait quelqu’un à Sisak [et je crois que pour une femme à l’époque c’était un bon défis ehn ? parce que…] tout à fait, elle connaissait des gens parce que les gens qui montaient les partenaires de Sisak ça été au début l’ANCI Veneto et donc comme elle venait de cette région là j’ai dit « écoute, c’est plus facile, l’ANCI Veneto est en train de faire ce truc là à Sisak, ils ont ce qu’il faut sauf un délégué » voilà c’était comme ça et après elle est devenue la grande chef, non non mais, ce qui est un peu dommage c’est que c’est devenu un programme majoritairement italien, c’est pas une critique ehn à l’égard des italiens, c’est une critique à l’égard d’autres pays, je sais qu’il y a des français etcetera [beh, on cherche justement à…c’est ce que Martial cherche à faire…] non, mais bon , les italiens ont été toujours très très actifs en ex Yougoslavie pendant la guerre, ils ont fait énormément de choses…et certaines logiques c’est tout à l’honneur de l’Italie, mais ce qui serait bien c’est que d’autres pays se mobilisent et se motivent un peu plus,un peu pour ces programmes[en ce moment, en fait, on cherche aussi je pense à s’élargir un peu en Allemagne aussi mais bon, par exemple ici on a essayé plusieurs fois d’avoir des rendez-vous avec l’Ambassadeur allemand et on a du mal, eh, et le petits pays, enfin les petits pays, les derniers qui sont entrés dans l’Union Européenne qui ont pas forcément les financements disponibles pour ce type d’activités, c’est vrai que ce n’est pas facile à…] c'est-à-dire que l’ex Yougoslavie, ça n’intéresse plus à grand monde, mais c’est pour ça que c’est bien, je sais qu’il y a un projet de faire une ADL en Georgie [oui, oui] moi, je trouve ça très bien parce que j’étais là-bas maintenant plusieurs fois au Caucase là, cette année, ça se justifierait amplement, ça se justifierait amplement ehn, parce que on a les mêmes caractéristiques qu’on avait dans les Balkans, il y a 10 ans, quand on a commencé : absence de société civile,pas de développement local, pratiquement pas de démocratie locale, donc il y a toutes les, tous les ingrédients, il y a toutes les bonnes motivations pour démarrer un programme là-bas. Cette affaire des ADL, moi je me souviens que il y a un type des Nations Unies, un africain, des Nations Unies quand il avait vu ce qu’on pouvait faire, avec de tout petits moyens on pouvait faire des choses très concrètes avec l’ADL de Osijek, il me disait il faut venir chez nous, je sais plus d’où il venait lui d’Afrique, je sais plus de quel pays mais ce programme on pourrait très bien le transposer et développer en Afrique, c’est pas un programme fait pour l’ex

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Yougoslavie, on l’a inventé et démarré ici mais c’est vrai qu’on pourrait le faire dans plein de régions du monde. C’est clair. [Oui, surtout que bon, surtout en Afrique, je pense, ils font des projets qui sont un peu détachés, à mon avis, de la réalité locale, donc] souvent on vient encore avec des esprits un peu colonialistes [parce que à mon avis justement les ADL, ce qu’elles cherchent à faire, c’est de partir de la réalité plutôt] il y a que les acteurs locaux [oui voilà,e parce que quand on impose, entre guillemets, un projet c’est par forcément, ça fonctionne pas forcément, au contraire c’est souvent des experts qui viennent de l’extérieur et qui sont pas sur le terrain et qui bon connaissent pas assez, je veux dire, du pays pour] eh ben, c’est comme ça que quand on arrivait sur le terrain les projets se plantaient comme on dit, des projets échouaient parce que c’était des modèles imposés de l’extérieur, les américains sont très doués parfois pour ça, ils viennent et essaient absolument d’imposer ça dans les régions où c’est totalement inadapté [ moi, j’ai l’impression que c’est ce qu’ils ont fait un peu en Russie, je veux dire dans tout] oui tout à fait, tout à fait, non non partout on va et que dans des pays en développement, partout on va et on voit des projets qui marchent, ce sont des projets qui sont mis en œuvre, en général, par de grandes ONG européennes. J’étais, il y a deux ans j’étais au Congo, il y avait une grosse ONG italienne qui mettait en place des projets assez incroyables, très très bons, et à côté de ça il y avait les projets de la Banque Mondiale et tout, qui avait beaucoup plus d’argent et qui n’arrivait pas à faire fonctionner un projet, [ et souvent ça marche pas] ils mettaient pas, ils n’impliquaient pas les gens du pays [ oui et surtout je pense que pour ce type de projet, enfin moi je ne suis pas assez dedans pour savoir, mais souvent c’est des projets, des investissements qu’ils doivent rembourser et si ça marche pas ils doivent rembourser quand même et comment est-ce qu’ils vont s’en sortir ? moi je sais pas mais je crois qu’ils devraient bien reformer] il faudrait déposer un label ADL,non non c’est vraiment, moi je continue d’être, être très en faveur de ce programme et de le soutenir autant que je peux puisque, je suis membre de l’Association [ oui, j’ai regardé un petit peu le document pour les], membre individuel, non c’est un bon programme.

Bon, très bien, merci beaucoup pour cette entrevue…

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QUESTIONARIO GIAMPAOLO CORDIALE

Consiglio d’Europa, 19 maggio 2005

1. Sig. Cordiale, qual è la sua funzione all’interno del Congresso dei Poteri Locali e Regionali del Consiglio d’Europa? Da quanto tempo occupa questa posizione e cosa l’ha portata ad accettarla?

2. Com’è arrivato al Consiglio d’Europa? Quali altri posti ha occupato prima di arrivare al Congresso?

3. Di che cosa si occupa esattamente al Congresso?

4. Mi può dare una definizione di sviluppo sostenibile?

5. Quali sono i più importanti fattori di questo tipo di sviluppo?

6. Quali le conseguenze?

7. Qual’è la situazione economica della regione di cui si occupa? E in particolare, cosa mi può dire della ex Jugoslavia?

8. Qual è il settore più sviluppato? Perché questo settore e non altri?

9. Quali sono i progetti più importanti che il Congresso ha realizzato e sta realizzando in quell’area?

10. Quali le conseguenze positive? Ci sono stati dei risultati concreti?

11. Quali sono i problemi più importanti che lo sviluppo sostenibile nei Balcani deve affrontare?

12. A suo avviso, qual’è l’importanza rivestita dalle Organizzazioni Internazionali in questo tipo di sviluppo? E in particolare quella del Congresso?

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13. E quale l’importanza di investitori stranieri e ONG? quale degli investitori e ONG locali?

14. Quanto conta la società civile in tutto questo processo?

15. Qual è secondo lei il rapporto tra lo sviluppo economico locale e sostenibile? Come lo definirebbe?

16. Secondo lei è importante il legame tra questi due tipi di sviluppo, se possono essere considerati due tipi di sviluppo distinti?

17. Conosce l’Associazione delle Agenzie della Democrazia Locale? E in particolare, conosce il progetto pilota: “Azioni per lo sviluppo economico locale nei Balcani”?

18. Se si, quali sono state secondo lei le conseguenze positive e i risultati raggiunti?

19. Che miglioramenti porterebbe alla metodologia dell’Associazione per quanto riguarda i progetti di sviluppo economico locale?

20. Vuole aggiungere qualcosa?

Allora, la mia funzione all’interno del Congresso, io sono segretario della Commissione di Sviluppo Sostenibile del Congresso, assumo le funzioni di interim dopo diciamo il cambiamento di funzioni di Georgi Bergu, che era il precedente segretario della Commissione, però sono anche responsabile del Gruppo di Contatto Congiunto Congresso-Comitato delle Regioni, che è un gruppo di lavoro al quale partecipano i membri dell’Unione Europea, Comitato delle Regioni e il Congresso in quanto Consiglio d’Europa. Sono qui dal 1995 e ho accettato questa proposta professionale per interesse per il tipo di attività, per la mia formazione in ambito internazionale e anche per motivi familiari diciamo in generale. Prima di arrivare al Consiglio d’Europa sono stato immediatamente precedentemente alla Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri della Repubblica Italiana, come collaboratore dei Ministri per le Politiche Europee e gli Affari Regionali, nel primo e nel secondo Governo Ciampi, rispettivamente con i Ministri Ciaurro e Paladin e da lì, da questa esperienza in ambito regionale ma anche

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comunitario ho avuto questa proposta qui in seno al Congresso. Prima della Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri sono stato 5 anni al Parlamento Europeo come Agente del Segretariato Generale, Responsabile dell’Informazione; precedentemente sono stato 2 anni alla Commissione Europea a Bruxelles, incaricato di Informazione giuridica e attività preparatorie in materia di legislazione dell’Unione Europea. Concretamente al Congresso mi occupo dell’organizzazione soprattutto delle riunioni relative alla Commissione Sviluppo Sostenibile ma anche alla preparazione dei contenuti di queste riunioni e quindi come tutti i segretari di Commissione hanno la duplice funzione sia organizzativa per lo svolgimento delle riunioni nel rispetto delle procedure regolamentari ma sia anche un’attività se vogliamo redazionale e quindi di preparazione dei testi da sottoporre per adozione ai membri del Congresso, alla Commissione prima e dai membri del Congresso successivamente ovviamente questa attività redazionale è supportata da studi di base e da materiali dei quali mi avvalgo per la preparazione di questi testi. La definizione di sviluppo sostenibile, vi sono varie tesi, varie teorie e varie interpretazioni. Va detto che questo concetto è stato enunciato per la prima volta dal Rapporto Brudland presso le Nazioni Unite ed è un concetto che tende in parole povere e in parole semplici a inglobare i tre aspetti principali dello sviluppo che sono quello economico, quello ambientale e quello sociale. L’idea è di garantire una sostenibilità, quindi una durabilità, non a caso in francese lo sviluppo sostenibile viene definito come développement durable, e quindi l’accento è posto su il poter garantire una stabilità economica, ma anche una salvaguardia ambientale e una salvaguardia sociale non nel breve periodo ma nel medio e soprattutto nel lungo periodo. Quindi si parla di un approccio di salto generazionale [quanti anni più o meno?] bah, in ogni caso non badando esclusivamente alle necessità immediate, in termini economici il lungo periodo si definisce ultradecennale, il medio quinquennale e il breve annuale se vogliamo, ma queste sono categorie molto schematiche in realtà non si vuole dare delle scadenze temporali precise alla sostenibilità, anche perché in determinati aspetti una durevolezza e una permanenza dello sviluppo sotto, per esempio da un punto di vista economico, potrebbe essere sufficiente una garanzia di 5 anni, mentre per un approccio ambientale la durabilità potrebbe essere stabilita o realizzata su programmi decennali o anche ventennali, quindi non è, diciamo, definibile a priori il concetto di sostenibilità in termini quantitativi, numerici,può essere variabile, ma è bene avere in mente, tenere

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presente che non vi sono soltanto le necessità, le nostre necessità odierne pure e dure, ma ci sono le necessità dei nostri figli e ci sono delle necessità che e delle protezioni, delle salvaguardie da prevedere che siano esse sociali, economiche o ambientali in periodi decisamente più lunghi rispetto a quelli che vengono considerati attualmente nelle analisi. Questo grosso modo per quanto riguarda lo sviluppo sostenibile, va detto che poi le interpretazioni o gli accenti possono essere posti su questo o quell’ altro elemento a seconda delle visioni individuali ma possiamo considerare grossolanamente questi concetti principali. Per quanto riguarda un’analisi regionale, devo dire che qui in seno al Congresso cerchiamo di avere un approccio più largo possibile, non focalizzarci su una regione o su una città, ma di lavorare con degli, con delle analisi comparative, di confrontare problematiche simili e cercare di avere un numero di campioni il più largo possibile, in modo da facilitare scambio di esperienze e adozione di soluzioni comuni a problemi comuni. Per quanto riguarda la situazione della ex Jugoslavia, sappiamo tutti che tra i paesi europei non è tra le più rosee d’altronde al di là dei problemi di natura politica uno dei parametri considerati dall’Unione Europea per accettare l’accesso di nuovi stati membri è quello di una sufficiente stabilità economica e peso economico. Alcuni paesi della ex Jugoslavia sono in una fase più avanzata, altri sono in una fase più, di ritardo maggiore, quindi la situazione è variabile da stato a stato. Il desiderio che si può esprimere è che tutti questi paesi facciano dei progressi e che possano nel medio periodo o nel lungo periodo entrare a far parte dell’Unione Europea e il Consiglio d’Europa, e il Congresso in suo seno, lavorano anche in tal senso per facilitare i progressi politici, democratici ed economici preventivi ad un’adesione di tutti questi paesi all’Unione Europea. Anche per quanto riguarda i settori di sviluppo di questi paesi la situazione può essere considerata abbastanza variegata, certo è che vi sono delle potenzialità in materia di turismo, in materia di terziario, quindi di servizi, in materia di nuove tecnologie, che poi sono le strade già tracciate da qualsiasi economia da seguire per poter promuovere lo sviluppo, che possono essere considerate delle strade da seguire per accelerare lo sviluppo di questi paesi. Per quanto riguarda i progetti che il Congresso ha realizzato e sta realizzando nell’area, io mi limiterò a citarne uno, che è quello dell’iniziativa Euroregione Adriatica fermo restando che poi gli altri colleghi potranno dare ulteriori precisioni su altri progetti in

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corso in favore di questa zona. In pochissime parole è stata lanciata l’idea di creare una entità comune alle regioni, ma anche alle province o alle città del bacino dell’Adriatico, quindi tutti i paesi che bagnano sul bacino adriatico e dei quali molti fanno parte dei paesi della ex Jugoslavia, per fornire un momento di collaborazione tra soprattutto le regioni italiane e, soprattutto tra le regioni che già fanno parte, gli stati già membri dell’Unione Europea, con regioni di altri paesi che non sono ancora membri dell’Unione Europea; quindi abbiamo da un lato se vogliamo Slovenia, Italia e Grecia nella misura in cui la Grecia volesse aderire all’iniziativa e poi gli altri paesi del bacino dell’Adriatico Croazia, Bosnia, l’Albania eccetera, che non fanno parte dell’Unione Europea ma che possono intrecciare delle relazioni con le loro regioni, province, città omologhe dello stesso bacino. Un’altra problematica, e questa è più di natura ambientale e che ha motivato il lancio di questo, di questa iniziativa è quella delle caratteristiche del Mar Adriatico che è un mare semichiuso e come tutti i mari semichiusi, come può essere il Baltico, come può essere il Mar Nero,il problema del ricambio acquatico se vogliamo e dell’inquinamento ma anche quello della pesca sono problemi abbastanza importanti e quindi si è ritenuto che all’interno di questa iniziativa l’aspetto pesca, ambiente ma anche agricoltura dovesse ricoprire un ruolo importante. Detto ciò, come già accennato, l’idea è che regioni, città e province appartenenti a stati sovrani differenti possano lanciare, intessere relazioni di cooperazione diretta ed ecco il ruolo dell’Euroregione che potrà coordinare e farsi portavoce di queste iniziative a favore di tutti i partner, di tutti quei partner che vorranno entrare a farne parte; attualmente l’iniziativa è in fase di lancio,sono stati fatti i primi passi per la concretizzazione tecnica e giuridica di questa nuova entità e entro la fine dell’anno si dovrebbe, si dovrebbero aprire le porte di questa istanza, di questa nuova entità Euroregione Adriatica. Per quanto riguarda l’importanza delle Organizzazioni Internazionali, penso promozionale di questo sviluppo, possiamo dire che il Congresso, tra le altre istanze, può avere l’orgoglio di essere stato l’iniziatore, l’ideatore, il coordinatore di questa iniziativa. Quindi ritengo che trattandosi di questioni di natura internazionale le Organizzazioni Internazionali rivestono un ruolo particolarmente importante e possono avere un ruolo fondamentale perché questo tipo di iniziative nascano, iniziative che poi in sostanza sono a beneficio di comuni, di province e di regioni e anche direttamente dei cittadini quindi.

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Per quanto riguarda poi l’importanza degli investitori stranieri, delle Organizzazioni Non Governative, anche qui se si guarda il problema da un punto di vista squisitamente economico è fondamentale l’importanza della presenza di interessi economici che si impiantano in questi paesi che hanno delle grosse potenzialità sia in termini di manodopera ma anche in termini di successivo mercato potenziale per prodotti occidentali e anche il ruolo delle Organizzazioni Non Governative è fondamentale soprattutto per inserire, introdurre e diffondere un clima di pace sociale, un clima di convivenza pacifica e di dialogo interculturale, interreligioso che poi sono alla base di una vita democratica e della stabilità di un paese che attrae gli investitori. Quindi io vedrei le due cose come collegate se vogliamo e detto ciò è chiaro che in qualsiasi processo di evoluzione di una qualsiasi nazione il ruolo della società civile è fondamentale, perché tutto parte dalla base, dal feeling, dalla percezione, dalle sensazioni e dalle volontà che sono insite nella popolazione, come abbiamo visto per quanto è successo con il crollo del muro di Berlino tutta una serie di cambiamenti, di meccanismi economici sono iniziati con delle percezioni popolari, con delle sollevazioni poi ad un certo punto popolari se vogliamo che hanno portato a dei cambiamenti importanti sia a livello di regimi che poi a livello di ascesa economica dei paesi stessi [poi anche per questo forse sono le ONG a livello locale che sono importanti in questo senso, no?] sicuramente [Per coinvolgere anche la società civile insomma, per diffondere forse un po’ anche la mentalità un po’ più europeista] europeistica, certamente, ma io direi che le ONG a livello locale e tutte le entità che agiscono a livello globale hanno una importanza fondamentale e mi ricollego qui allo sviluppo economico locale, alla domanda sullo sviluppo economico locale e sostenibile. Va detto che al di là dei propositi, delle parole, o delle legislazioni o delle azioni intraprese a livello sopranazionale o nazionale la realtà è che nei fatti concreti, nella vita di tutti i giorni sono le entità piccole o medio piccole, come possono essere le municipalità, le ONG locali ma anche le province e le regioni che sono a contatto diretto con la popolazione, da qui il famoso principio di sussidiarietà, sono loro che nella loro vicinanza alla popolazione danno poi lo stimolo, la presenza, gli appoggi concreti affinché lo sviluppo si realizzi [fanno magari anche da tramite coi progetti delle Organizzazioni Internazionali che altrimenti forse sarebbero troppo staccati dalla realtà] dalla realtà, esattamente, questo sia che si tratti di collegamenti con istanze nazionali o sopranazionali ma anche nel caso di collegamenti diretti, come è il nostro caso, con altre istanze corrispondenti di altri paesi. In buona sostanza tutti sappiamo

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che per qualsiasi tipo di attività, oggi come oggi, si volesse svolgere, ovviamente soprattutto attività economica ma non solo, tutto passa per, attraverso una efficace amministrazione, degli, un’efficace informazione e degli efficaci collegamenti; tutto ciò viene dato in buonissima parte da città, province e comuni fermo restando che gli stessi responsabili ed Enti locali hanno interesse, e lo fanno, spesso di creare contatti coi loro omologhi corrispondenti, e il Congresso esiste anche per questo, per creare anche poi lo spunto per collaborazioni di natura politica ma che possono anche poi trasformarsi in collaborazioni dirette di natura economica. La sostanza, nella sostanza il problema è che ci sono dei paesi che hanno delle potenzialità che possono interessare ad altri paesi ma se non ci si parla e se non ci si parla attraverso i sindaci, anche e non solo attraverso gli operatori economici, questi due punti di attività non si possono mai incontrare. Quindi io darei un’importanza capitale alle azioni a livello locale, sia che esse siano effettuate dalle Organizzazioni Non Governative o da istanze amministrative locali, regionali o provinciali. In realtà non vedo una distinzione tra sviluppo locale e sviluppo sostenibile a livello generale, l’obiettivo è uno solo, come abbiamo già detto quello della durevolezza, della stabilità del benessere delle popolazioni anche se mi preme dire, mi preme sottolineare che qui in seno al Congresso e in seno al Consiglio d’Europa ci preoccupiamo più della qualità della vita delle persone, che non dello standard di vita anche perché siamo portati più ad approccio di democrazia e di diritti dell’uomo che non al sostegno economico e finanziario con i fondi strutturali, tanto per citare idee di queste regioni entrambi comunque sia la qualità della vita che lo standard di vita sono due aspetti positivi per una popolazione. Concludendo quindi, non ritengo che vi sia un aspetto locale e un aspetto nazionale o internazionale dello sviluppo sostenibile, l’obiettivo è uno solo, quello della durabilità dell’ambiente, dell’economia e della pace sociale e tutti gli attori e anche e soprattutto quelli locali e regionali sul territorio possono contribuire notevolmente a questa, a questo obiettivo, anche perché va detto che in buona parte dei casi molte delle competenze concrete anche in materia regolamentare per la salvaguardia dell’ambiente, per l’aiuto alle persone socialmente bisognose e anche, eventualmente, per incentivi economici particolari o de- fiscalizzazioni, richiedono presso entità locali, provinciali o regionali. Quindi il ruolo che queste entità possono giocare è sicuramente, estremamente importante.

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ANTONELLA VALMORBIDA (Director ALDA)

1. Sig. Valmorbida, la sua funzione all’interno dell’Associazione delle Agenzie della Democrazia Locale è quella di direttrice. Da quanto tempo occupa questa posizione e cosa l’ha portata ad accettarla?

2. Com’è entrata in contatto con il network di ADL e quali altre posizioni ha occupato prima di diventare la direttrice dell’Associazione che riunisce tutte le Agenzie della Democrazia Locale?

3. Qual è la metodologia impiegata dall’AADL per l’ideazione e la realizzazione dei suoi progetti nei Balcani?

4. Veniamo al “ progetto pilota: Azioni per lo sviluppo economico locale nei Balcani” ideato dall’Associazione delle Agenzie della Democrazia Locale e cofinanziato dal Ministero degli Affari Esteri francese ( DG per la Cooperazione e lo Sviluppo – Missione per la cooperazione non governativa, decentralizzata)nel 2004 e conclusosi all’inizio di quest’anno. Perché è stato ideato questo progetto?

5. Mi può dare una definizione di sviluppo economico locale?

6. Qual’era l’obiettivo di questo progetto per l’AADL ? Dato che le ADL non sono obbligate ad attuare i progetti dell’Associazione, perché avete scelto di farlo?

7. Chi era il responsabile del progetto a livello dell’AADL e chi lo era a livello delle singole Agenzie ?

8. Il tema di questo progetto è classico oppure nuovo? E la metodologia impiegata, è classica o nuova? E la durata, è simile a quella di altri progetti o diversa?

9. Prima di ideare questo progetto e proporlo alle Agenzie, è stato fatto uno studio sul campo per capirne le esigenze economiche a livello di ogni singola regione?

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10. Quali erano gli obiettivi e le aspettative delle singole Agenzie riguardo a questo progetto? Secondo lei sono stati raggiunti? Le Agenzie sono soddisfatte di questo progetto?

11. Secondo lei, questo progetto corrispondeva ai bisogni della società civile?

12. Secondo lei la metodologia utilizzata, era sufficientemente chiara? Era adatta a ricoprire le esigenze, molto diverse, di tutte le agenzie?

13. È soddisfatta di questo progetto (relativamente a tematiche, metodologia e rapporti tra AADL e ADL)? Lo considera un successo dell’ attività dell’Associazione?

14. Se si, quali sono i suoi punti forti (relativamente a tematiche, metodologia e rapporti tra AADL e ADL) ? Secondo lei, il successo di questo progetto dipende di più dall’elaborazione teorica fatta dall’AADL o dalla realizzazione concreta delle singole Agenzie ?

15. Se no, quali ne sono le debolezze/difetti (relativamente a tematiche, metodologia e rapporti tra AADL e ADL) ? Secondo lei, il fallimento di questo progetto dipende di più dall’elaborazione teorica fatta dall’AADL o dalla realizzazione concreta delle singole Agenzie?

16. Che insegnamento può trarre da questo progetto per le azioni future dell’Associazione e delle Agenzie ?

17. Esiste un protocollo di valutazione all’interno dell’Associazione ?

18. Se si, chi l’ha elaborato ? una persona all’interno dell’AADL o una persona esterna ?

19. Se non esiste, secondo lei avrebbe rappresentato una caratteristica importante per la realizzazione del progetto e la valutazione dei suoi risultati?

20. Più in generale, potrebbe un protocollo di questo tipo portare dei miglioramenti alla metodologia d’azione dell’Associazione e delle Agenzie?

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21. Secondo la sua esperienza, quali cambiamenti apporterebbe alla metodologia d’azione dell’Associazione e quali a quella delle Agenzie?

22. Quali sono i problemi maggiori che l’AADL e le ADL devono affrontare?

23. Vuole aggiungere qualcosa che non le ho chiesto e che ritiene importante?

Lavoro come Direttrice nell’Associazione delle Agenzie della Democrazia Locale fin dall’inizio, cioè dal 1999, e non è proprio come mi ha portato ad accettare questa posizione perché in realtà l’Associazione ho contribuito a istituirla e dunque, è vero che la posizione mi è stata offerta ma è stata più una cosa che ho portato avanti personalmente ma anche con altri soggetti, con il nostro Presidente e con altri soggetti, membri della nostra Associazione e dunque, in realtà, all’inizio non era una posizione così invidiabile perché tra l’altro la situazione era difficile, si partiva da zero, i contratti sicuramente non erano quelli di adesso e diciamo che la scelta sul mio nome riguardava una scelta rispetto all’impostazione che si voleva dare all’Associazione, cioè un’associazione che rappresentasse soprattutto i soci, l’altro candidato aveva diciamo una visione diversa rispetto all’Associazione, voleva mantenerla più all’interno del Consiglio d’Europa al contrario di quello che io ho cercato di portare avanti. Dunque io ho conosciuto il Presidente delle Agenzie della Democrazia Locale allora, a suo tempo, Ambasciate della Democrazia Locale forse nel 1994-95 quando lavoravo come addetta stampa dell’Associazione dei Comuni del Veneto, che a suo tempo, grazie al Presidente di allora che si chiamava Eugenio Rossetto e che purtroppo è deceduto anche per il suo impegno in un viaggio per l’aiuto ai paesi della ex Jugoslavia era stata istituita una Commissione di Solidarietà, diciamo le mie competenze acquisite durante il mio excursus educativo e la capacità che avevo di esprimermi in certe lingue ha fatto sì che oltre al mio ruolo di addetta stampa mi occupassi anche di questa Commissione di Solidarietà Internazionale che aveva portato avanti il progetto dell’apertura dell’Agenzia della Democrazia Locale di Sisak in Croazia. E’ stata aperta nel ’96, io in quella sede avevo un ruolo di responsabile per un progetto media e il Delegato era un altro, era Delegato diciamo indicato e finanziato dalla Regione Veneto e dopo la fine del mandato io ho, sono stata nominata Delegata a Sisak e vi ho lavorato per quasi quattro anni, fino all’anno 2000.

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Allora la metodologia dell’Associazione delle ADL è quella della cooperazione decentrata multilaterale, cioè la cooperazione decentrata a livello internazionale coinvolge Enti Locali e associazionismo che collaborano insieme per dei progetti di sviluppo, in questo caso di democrazia e dei processi democratici e dei diritti umani nei Balcani. Multilaterale perché attorno alla singola Agenzia si ritrovano vari soggetti che concordano, accordano la loro strategia, le loro modalità d’azione per un determinato obiettivo. Il progetto che noi chiamiamo Progetto Francia che è l’azione per lo sviluppo economico nei Balcani è stato steso, scritto a seguito di una brainstorming session che si è tenuta in Montenegro qualche anno fa dove le Agenzie della Democrazia Locale oltre a essere formate da un punto di vista di gestione della loro associazione hanno anche utilizzato parte del loro tempo per indicare le priorità della loro ADL e lì sono venute fuori due priorità che sembravano trasversali sull’insieme del progetto, per primo era lo sviluppo locale e secondo i temi dell’Unione Europea. E dunque abbiamo rivolto, scritto questo progetto in collaborazione con le Agenzie e in collaborazione con soggetti francesi e in particolare un centro di formazione bretone che lavora da tempo in Montenegro nell’Agenzia e che ha portato il suo know-how e le sue esperienze in questo progetto. Inoltre questo tema dello sviluppo locale rientra nelle priorità di lungo periodo fino al 2006 dell’Associazione delle ADL, che abbiamo definito a Subotica nell’Assemblea Generale decennale nel 2003, e che pone appunto l’aspetto economico e lo sviluppo locale al centro della nostra iniziativa. Una definizione dello sviluppo locale io credo che quello che io intendo e quelli come noi, intendiamo lo sviluppo locale è soprattutto uno sviluppo che si basi sul locale, sui mezzi a disposizione da parte della comunità, con la consapevolezza che le risorse sono quelle, umane, territoriali, organizzative, e su queste bisogna lavorare professionalizzandole, cercando una priorità, agendo in sintonia e in sinergia con queste varie risorse. Locale in contrapposizione con uno sviluppo che viene imposto o che arrivi da fuori, e che sia completamente alieno alle logiche e alla realtà locale; noi consideriamo che anche uno sviluppo che ben venga possa per esempio essere attivato da un processo di de-localizzazione debba comunque essere realizzato, inserirsi in un contesto locale che sappia mantenere questo equilibrio per non creare più danni che vantaggi. L’obiettivo nel fare questo progetto era quello di dare degli strumenti a tutte le agenzie in questo campo, non dimentichiamo che appunto lo sviluppo locale e questa metodologia era stata indicata in modo trasversale su tutte le ADL e dunque si volevano dare gli strumenti per poi poter gestire come si volevano all’interno di ogni agenzia le proprie risorse, le

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Annexes, questionnaire Ms. Antonella Valmorbida proprie attività. E’ vero che le ADL non sono obbligate a svolgere i progetti dell’Associazione ma in questo caso hanno tutte concordato e lo stanno infatti realizzando. Il responsabile del progetto a livello dell’Associazione è di fatto Martial Paris, che se ne è occupato in questi ultimi mesi e all’interno delle singole agenzie, beh sono o i delegati o dei soggetti con un’esperienza di sviluppo economico, indicati dai delegati dallo staff di ogni agenzia. Il tema di questo progetto, ma diciamo che non è nuovo evidentemente, se ne parla da tempo , se ne parla in varie parti del mondo, non è nuovo ma forse è nuovo ed è da ribadire nei paesi come i Balcani che vivendo una transizione economica anche in situazioni molto particolari ha il rischio di effettivamente trovandosi in grande difficoltà per alcune realtà di abbandonare questo approccio e di affrontare diciamo il tema dello sviluppo in modo irrealistico. La mia esperienza per esempio di aver incontrato dei responsabili dello sviluppo in alcune municipalità dove noi lavoravamo, dove praticamente mancano anche le infrastrutture di strade , di qualsiasi infrastruttura importante o necessaria per un’azienda, una fabbrica anche piccola, questi andavano via dicendo che era necessario avere una de-localizzazione di mercato dove non c’era appunto neanche la possibilità di avere delle strade per realizzarlo. La metodologia in sé non è neanche troppo nuova, è quello dello sviluppo locale. Io credo che la metodologia innovativa sia quelle delle ADL che fa da sostegno a questo progetto. La durata purtroppo è abbastanza breve, è di un anno, e crea solo gli strumenti necessari per posizionare il futuro, infatti stiamo già proponendo al Ministero degli Esteri un seguito poiché a seguito di questi gruppi di lavoro che sono stati istituiti abbiamo definito un progetto, in ogni agenzia, start up d’impresa. Per fare questo progetto in realtà abbiamo offerto un quadro e uno studio sul campo per capire le esigenze economiche all’interno di ogni singola regione è stato fatto all’interno del progetto, dunque è stato una inception fees al progetto stesso. Gli obiettivi erano abbastanza chiari e non si ponevano troppo alti, nel senso che è chiaro che noi non facciamo, con questo progetto non potevamo rivoluzionare la realtà locale, credo che abbiamo raggiunto i nostri obiettivi formando alcuni soggetti, dando loro la possibilità di lavorare insieme, ricordando che questo progetto e il programma che è stato sottoposto al Ministero degli Esteri ha l’avvallo delle autorità locali e abbiamo raggiunto gli obiettivi preposti e credo che le agenzie ne siano soddisfatte fino ad ora. Che corrisponda proprio ai bisogni della società civile non lo so perché la società civile ovviamente avrebbe voglia, bisogno di avere delle risposte più immediate, noi ci sforziamo per comunque costruire delle basi che non danno

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Annexes, questionnaire Ms. Antonella Valmorbida delle risposte così immediate ma che alla fine possono avere un risultato di lunga durata. La metodologia utilizzata è stata molto chiara, e tutti hanno diciamo partecipato con grande impegno ai momenti di formazione, di azione poi sul territorio e credo che il risultato che noi abbiamo tra le mani è effettivamente il documento, un esempio di come la metodologia sia stata interpretata in modo corretto. Rispetto al ricoprire le esigenze molto diverse di tutte le agenzie, io credo che lo schema che è stato abbastanza largo per poter dare gli strumenti di base in modo che tutte le agenzie poi lo riempiano con il loro contenuto, in questo senso va benissimo un progetto regionale di questo tipo. Sicuramente io sono molto soddisfatta di questo progetto e infatti ho dato anche poi, su questo abbiamo rimbalzato per poter presentare un progetto sui giovani e lo sviluppo locale e lo considero un successo dell’attività dell’Associazione. Credo che il progetto abbia come punto forte il processo di formazione che è stato fatto, la metodologia utilizzata e i formatori che sono stati molto bravi e la continuità che hanno dato, l’elaborazione teorica fatta dall’AADL non tanto in quanto ci siamo riferiti più a questo brainstorming session di priorità delle ADL che è stato fatto come ripeto qualche hanno fa a Sisak ed è soprattutto su questo che ci siamo basati. La debolezza del progetto è il tempo che sta intercorrendo tra la fine e dunque la redazione del progetto di start up d’impresa e quello effettivamente quando poi si realizzerà e li ci sono dei tempi tecnici dovuti ai meccanismi di finanziamento che ci impongono queste dinamiche e questo effettivamente indebolisce il risultato del progetto. L’insegnamento che noi abbiamo tratto da questo progetto è appunto che sia, che la metodologia è stata buona, magari bisognerebbe cercare di fare un progetto su un paio d’anni, 3 anni e di concatenare diciamo il risultato di una prima fase a una fase più concreta già direttamente all’interno di uno stesso progetto. Un protocollo di valutazione all’interno dell’Associazione non esiste, non esiste perché i progetti sono molto diversi, ogni progetto ha una sua valutazione e cerchiamo però in questo momento di importare una valutazione generale di tutte le ADL con un progetto a se stante. Questa valutazione è stata diciamo, questo progetto di valutazione è stato fatto da una persona esterna che conosce un po’ le agenzie ma non troppo ed è una società di Bologna che si chiama PROGECO. Un protocollo di valutazione, si effettivamente è possibile, non so in che senso potrebbe portare dei miglioramenti della metodologia, è chiaro che la verifica è una cosa importante ma non deve diventare diciamo, sostituirsi in sé all’azione, siamo già sommersi da meccanismi di rapporti di valutazione interna ai progetti e

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QUESTIONNAIRE M. MARTIAL PARIS – Project Manager ALDA

1. M. Paris, quel est votre fonction exacte à l’intérieur de l’Association des Agences de la Démocratie Locale ? Depuis combien de temps vous occupez ce poste et qu’est-ce qui vous a porté à l’accepter ?

Je suis assistant de la directrice et chef de projet. J’occupe ce poste depuis bientôt 2 ans. Il y a différentes raisons qui m’ont poussé à l’accepter, la plus importante étant de faire partie d’une structure flexible et dynamique, en pleine construction et qui laisse la place à une grande indépendance afin d’atteindre les objectifs fixés.

2. Quels autres postes avez-vous occupé avant de travailler pour l’AADL?

J’ai travaillé dans différentes ONG suisses.

3. Ce qui m’intéresse le plus là c’est la situation économique des Balkans. Pourriez-vous me résumer quelle était la situation économique de la région quand vous avez commencé à travailler auprès de l’Association ?

La situation varie considérablement d’une région à l’autre des Balkans cependant il y a quelques traits communs comme l’introduction de l’économie de marché qui a démantelé le système de protection sociale hérité du communisme et appauvri la population, un appauvrissement dû évidemment à la guerre qui a détruit les infrastructures de production. A cela s’ajoute une crise fiscale et un manque de confiance des jeunes entrepreneurs vis-à- vis d’autorités locales parfois corrompues. L’enjeu pour la région est de créer les conditions qui favorisent l’emploi et une reprise économique.

4. Pourriez-vous me définir le concept de projet de développement économique local ? Quels sont à votre avis les points les plus importants de ce type de projets ?

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Le développement économique local est un processus dans lequel les collectivités locales, les entreprises, les ONG, la société civile travaillent ensemble afin de permettre une croissance durable et de générer des emplois en utilisant le capital humain, naturel, historique, économique d’un territoire bien défini. Le point essentiel est d’intégrer tous les acteurs au processus afin d’être sûr qu’au moment de la mise en application des stratégies décidées il n’y ait pas un partenaire qui fasse obstruction. Il est également important que la population soit informée régulièrement des actions des groupes de travail.

5. Depuis votre arrivée, avez-vous réalisé des projets de développement économique local ? si oui, lesquels ? Ont-ils eu des conséquences positives dans l’économie locale, par exemple la création d’entreprises et/ou le développement d’une activité économique particulière ?

C’est le premier projet de ce type pour l’ALDA.

6. Si oui, grâce à quels facteurs ?

7. Quelle importance ont eu (et ont) les Institutions internationales, les ONG internationales et les investissements étrangers dans le processus de développement local ?

Les Institutions internationales telles que la Banque Mondiale ou l’OMC financent de plus en plus des projets de développement économique local afin de promouvoir un développement qui soit durable et qui intègre toutes les données du territoire. Le développement économique local prend donc une place de plus en plus grande dans les politiques des acteurs internationaux.

8. Et quelle importance ont eu (et ont) les autorités locales, les ONG locales et les investissements locaux ?

Les autorités locales, ONG et entrepreneurs sont les premiers concernés par cette problématique, ils sont donc des acteurs-clés du processus de développement économique.

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9. Quelle a été l’importance de la participation de la société civile en tout cela ? Et quels ont été à votre avis les acteurs les plus importants ?

La société civile est évidemment invité à participer à ce processus mais il est difficile de la mobiliser en raison du manque de confiance à l’égard des institutions. Tous les acteurs cités précédemment sont importants les premiers étant évidemment les acteurs locaux, ce sont eux qui décident en définitive quel genre de développement ils souhaitent pour leur territoire.

10. Plus en général, quels sont les FACTEURS principaux du développement économique local ?

- Identification des faiblesses du marché et des faiblesses des politiques de développement. - Identification des forces et des avantages comparatifs des territoires. - Identification des contraintes du territoire (climat, nature,…) Basé sur cette étude, la mise en place de stratégies dynamiques appliquées par tous les acteurs. Cependant il n’y a pas de recette miracle, tout dépend des caractéristiques du territoire et de la capacité des habitants de l’exploiter sur le long terme.

11. Et quels en sont les ACTEURS les plus importants ?

Même réponse que 9…

12. Comment pourriez-vous définir le rapport entre le développement économique international, national et local/régional ? A votre avis, est-il important le lien entre les trois ? et dans quelle mesure peut-il affecter la réussite d’un projet de développement local ?

Un bon projet de développement économique local, se doit d’intégrer les données nationales et internationales. C’set la seule manière d’avoir un développement durable.

13. Venons au « Projet pilote : Actions pour le développement local dans les Balkans » mis en place par l’Association des Agences de la Démocratie Locale et cofinancé par le Ministère des Affaires Etrangères de France (DG de la coopération et du développement –

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Mission pour la coopération non- gouvernementale, décentralisée). Pourquoi existe ce projet ? D’où vient-il ?

Ce projet est la confluence de différents besoins exprimés d’une part par les ADL et d’autre part par la volonté de nos partenaires français de s’impliquer dans le développement économique local. C’est la grande force de l’AADL et des ADL : identification des besoins du terrain, grâce aux équipes des ADL qui sont composés en majorité de personnes issues de la région, ensuite ces besoins identifiés sont présentés aux membres du réseau afin de créer des synergies grâce à l’ l’ expertise des différents partenaires dans les domaines identifiés. Finalement le projet est écrit et les différents parties sont impliquées dans une série d’activités concrètes.

14. Dans le cadre de ce projet, quelle a été votre fonction ? Pourriez-vous m’en résumer le contenu ?

J’étais chef de projet, ce qui implique différentes tâches : • Relations avec les partenaires internationaux et le donateur, en l’occurrence le MAE • Organisation des formations en collaboration avec les formateurs français • Soutien aux animateurs territoriaux et aux ADL • Diffusion d’informations aux collectivités locales françaises • Contrôle de la mise en place effective des activités prévues • Compte-rendu régulier au MAE des activités mises en place et rédaction du rapport final d’activité

15. Quel était l’objectif pour ALDA ? Etant donné que les ADL ne sont pas obligées de mettre en place les projets de l’Association, pourquoi avez-vous choisi de la faire ?

Le projet de développement économique local correspond aux objectifs de l’ALDA qui a été fixé par ces membres lors du 10ème anniversaire de l’ADL de Subotica en 2003. L’ALDA écrit les projets pour répondre aux besoins du territoire où sont impliqués les ADL et identifiés par celles-ci. Dans la mesure où ces projets répondent à ces besoins, il est naturel que toutes le ADL adhèrent au projet proposé.

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16. Et quels étaient, à votre avis, les objectifs pour les ADL qui ont choisi de le mettre en place ?

Ce projet est exactement dans lignée des objectifs des ADL dans le sens où il ne peut avoir de stabilité politique et de démocratie sans un développement économique qui assure aux citoyens un niveau de vie décent.

17. Quelle place a eu le projet dans la vie des ADL ? (le sujet, est-il classique ou nouveau ? la méthodologie est-elle classique ou nouvelle ? et la durée, est-elle classique ou nouvelle ?)

Le sujet était nouveau pour la majorité des ADL même si certaines d’entre elles, notamment les ADL de Zavidovici et Prijedor en Bosnie-Herzégovine, avaient déjà mis en place des projets de développement économique. La méthodologie était totalement nouvelle, en accord avec les formateurs et les délégués, un module formation-action avait été défini, afin de pouvoir suivre et soutenir les agents territoriaux durant toute la durée du projet. La durée d’une année est une durée standard.

18. Quelles ont été les relations entre le projet et le terrain ? (est-ce que les ADL a eu des difficultés a intégrer le projet sur le terrain ? est-ce que cela correspondait à une demande de la société civile ? Est-ce que la méthodologie était compréhensible ?)

Dans la mesure où les ADL travaillent avec la société civile, et que les ADL ont préconisé ce genre de projet, on peut répondre par l’affirmative. La méthodologie a été difficile à assimiler pour les animateurs territoriaux, dans le sens où on leur demandait de se remettre totalement en question entre chaque séminaire afin d’être sûr que tous les acteurs importants étaient impliqués dans le processus.

19. Avant de rédiger et mettre en place ce projet, avez-vous conduit des enquêtes sur le terrain pour comprendre les différentes exigences des différentes Agences et, par conséquent, régions ?

Nous demandons à chaque ADL de nous présenter leurs objectifs et le type d’activité qu’elles voudraient mettre en place afin de répondre aux besoins de leur territoire. Après cette consultation, le projet est écrit de manière à laisser une grande liberté d’action aux

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ADL afin de l’adapter aux particularités de leur territoire et remplir ainsi les objectifs du projet.

20. Quelle a été la méthodologie suivie?

La méthodologie est celle de la formation-action, 4 séminaires de 3 jours ont été organisés, ensuite les animateurs retournaient sur le terrain, cette méthodologie permet de suivre les animateurs sur le long terme (une année) et leur offrent la possibilité de parler entre eux et avec les formateurs français des problèmes qu’ils ont rencontré et de la manière dont ils les ont réglés.

21. Est-ce que vous êtes satisfait de ce projet (thématiques et méthodologie, relations ALDA/ADL) ? L’avez-vous trouvé efficace ? Pourriez-vous le considérer un succès des activités de l’Association ?

On peut considérer ce projet comme un succès. Le projet répond à une nécessité du terrain, après quelques réglages nécessaires lors de chaque début de projet, les activités ont été implantées de manière extrêmement satisfaisante.

22. Si oui, quels sont ses points forts (thématiques et méthodologie, relations ALDA/ADL) ? est-ce que la réussite du projet dépend de l’élaboration faite par ALDA ou plutôt de la mise en place faite par l’ADL ?

Le point fort est la méthodologie employée qui assure un suivi sur le long terme des animateurs territoriaux. La réussite du projet dépend de tous les acteurs ALDA, ADL, société civile, collectivités locales, animateurs territoriaux.

23. Si non, quels en sont les faiblesses (thématiques et méthodologie, relations ALDA/ADL) ? est- ce que l’échec du projet dépend de l’élaboration faite par ALDA ou plutôt de la mise en place faite par l’ADL ? Quels changements apporteriez-vous à ce projet ?

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La difficulté est lié à la situation politique extrêmement volatile de la région, notamment en raison du nombre très élevé d’élections qu’il y a eu au cours de l’année 2004 en Serbie et en Croatie.

24. Quel enseignement tirer de ce projet pour les futures actions ALDA et/ou ADL ? Quels changements apporteriez-vous à la méthodologie d’action de l’Association des ADL et des ADL mêmes ?

La méthodologie d’action de l’ALDA et des ADL fonctionnent depuis plus de dix ans. Les ADL transmettent les besoins identifiés du territoire à l’ALDA. Ces besoins évoluent, la nature des projets aussi c’est ce qui assure la réussite des ADL et de l’ALDA. A l’avenir l’ALDA et les ADL vont renforcer leur action dans le développement local ce volet est indissociable du volet démocratique auquel les ADL participent depuis leur création.

25. A votre avis, les attentes des Agences ont été satisfaites ? Avez-vous conduit une enquête à la fin du projet pour en déduire la satisfaction/insatisfaction ?

Je pense que oui, chaque projet est soumis à une évaluation auprès des participants du projet.

26. Est-ce que vous avez un protocole d’évaluation à l’intérieur de l’AADL?

Chaque activité est évaluée par les participants.

27. Si oui, qui a élaboré et réalisé ce protocole ?

Le protocole dépend des projets, il est élaboré en collaboration avec les formateurs. Pour ce projet, le protocole a été préparé en collaboration avec les formateurs français.

28. Si non, est-ce cela aurait représenté un atout important pour la réalisation de ce projet ?

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29. Est-ce que vous voudriez ajouter quelque chose que vous considérez comme importante et que je ne vous ai pas demandée ?

Non

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PROPOSITION DE PROJET

Présentée par LDA Monténégro

Couverture géographique: Municipalité de Rozaje

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SOMMAIRE DU PROJET

Données générales

1. Titre: “Rozaje – Un produit touristique unique”

2. Date de départ: après signature du contrat (en 2005)

3. Durée en mois: 12

4. Couverture géographique: Rozaje

5. Lieu de réalisation du projet: doit encore être déterminé

6. Type d’activités: Définition et promotion de l’offre touristique de Rozaje. Promotion du tourisme estival et hivernal de Rozaje, des sports, du ski, de l’ascension de montagnes, de l’alpinisme, des randonnées, du tourisme rural et scientifique : - Internet – création du site officiel de la Municipalité de Rozaje avec présentation des produits et services touristiques pour les citoyens (il n’y a pas de site officiel) - Organisation d’une table ronde – “Définir le produit touristique de Rozaje” - Publication de différentes sortes de matériel: Guide touristique de Rozaje – brochures, plans de randonnées, présentation de produits originaux spécifiques - Organisation d’une présentation de Rozaje lors d’une foire touristique - Promotion des activités auprès des collectivités locales grâce à l’appui de l’Association Betton-Monténégro (partenaire de l’ADL du Monténégro)

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7. Agence de réalisation : Nom: Agence de la Démocratie Locale Monténégro Personne de contat: Kerim Medjedovic Adresse: St Njegoseva 19, 81400 Niksic, Serbie et Monténégro Tél.: +381 83 212 515 ; Fax: +381 83 212 519 E-mail: [email protected]

8. Compte bancaire de l’agence de réalisation Nom entier du compte bancaire: East Staffordshire Borough Council T/A Local Democracy Agency Montenegro

Sort Code: 16 10 85 Compte No: 10043451 Vous devez spécifier la référence de compte: LODEAGMO-EURA

Numéro IBAN: GB50 RBOS 1610 8510 0434 51

Nom et adresse de la Banque: The Royal Bank of Scotland plc 38 - 41 Station Street Burton upon Trent Staffordshire DE14 1AX

9. Autres partenaires: Municipalité de Rozaje et l’Organisation du Tourisme Rozaje

10. Montant requis en EURO: 10000

11. Autres sources de financement: la municipalité de Rozaje fournira un soutien en nature (par la mise à disposition de locaux pour les réunions d’information à la population, par exemple) et en donation.

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LDA Monténégro fournit également la promotion sur son site internet.

Contenu

1. Bref résumé Le développement du tourisme sur le territoire de la municipalité de Rozaje occupe une des positions les plus importantes dans les stratégies de développement. Les ressources naturelles de cette région donnent d’immenses opportunités pour développer cet aspect de l’économie.

Il existe une riche offre touristique à Rozaje. Historiquement et culturellement, dans la diversité de la nature avec les montagnes, les rivières claires, les lacs et les forêts, et dans une variété spécifique de travaux manuels, de plats et de produits agricoles faits dans un environnement naturel particulièrement sain et préservé. Les montagnes et les zones rurales de Rozaje offrent un produit unique.

Cependant, il n’existe pas de présentation adéquate de cette offre - cette richesse et ce potentiel économique ne sont pas portés aux yeux des visiteurs potentiels. Le but de ce projet est de définir et d’intégrer le produit unique de Rozaje et de le présenter à un public plus large.

Rozaje est situé dans les montagnes du nord-est du Monténégro, à une altitude de plus de 1000 mètres au-dessus du niveau de la mer et est entouré par de nombreux pics de montagnes hauts de plus de 2300 m. Il se troouve dans la région de transit sur la frontière avec la Serbie et le Kosovo et connecte le Balkan central avec la zone adriatique. De nombreuses personnes passent à côté et un certain nombre de touristes, principalement orientés vers l’hiver et le ski, viennent d’une zone plus large de la région et passent quelques temps à Rozaje.

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Il y a deux hôtels, “Turjak” et “Rozaje”, le motel “Bogaje” et deux abris pour alpinistes dans le village de Bandzov et “Jelencica” (cca 300 + lits) et un grand potentiel pour des pensions de famille combinées avec des produits et de la nourriture agricoles domestiques.

Dans la municipalité de Rozeje opère un Centre Culturel et dans son sein le “Rozajski Zbornik”, une bibliothèque, un théâtre, un cinéma, un théâtre amateur, une galerie et l’Association des arts et de la culture.

Le magazine local “Rozajski Zbornik” publie des travaux en sciences sociales, en culture, des travaux linguistiques, etc., ceci deux à trois fois par année. Approximativement cinq à six promotions de nouvelles ou de recueils de poésie sont organisées chaque année et le festival littéraire traditionnel “Milorad Djurovic” est organisé chaque année. La bibliothèque de la ville a été rouverte en 2001.

Le club d’art “Kula” est actif depuis plus de dix ans. Environ dix expositions d’art sont organisées chaque année. Deux festivals de musique traditionnelle sont organisés à Rozaje: “Zlatna pahulja” et “Zlatna staza”.

Le Musée d’Héritage Culturel de Rozaje a été ouvert en 2003. Il y a de nombreux objets culturels et historiques à Rozaje: Ganica kula, Kuca Pepica etc.

Les environs de Rozaje offrent d’excellentes opportunités à la fois pour le développement du tourisme hivernal et estival. Ces contrées sont connues pour leur beauté et fréquemment utilisées par les visiteurs dans les années 80. Les anciens hôtes recommencent facilement à venir. Le nombre de touristes augmente rapidement. Les investisseurs sont de plus en plus intéressés par la région, spécialement les gens originaires de Rozaje travaillant à l’étranger.

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L’Organisation du Tourisme de Rozaje a été récemment établie en accord avec la loi et est entrée en fonction.

2. Objectifs spécifiques - Définition /développement/intégration du produit touristique de Rozaje Augmentation de la conscience de l’offre touristique estivale et hivernale de Rozaje dans Rozaje et dans la région Transférer le savoir et l’expérience dans les questions de développement local accumulés par les communautés locale dans la République française (par le biais de lectures, de séminaires, d’ateliers de travail, de tables rondes, de visites d’études bilatérales);

3. Critères d’évaluation/indicateurs de réussite - Le nombre de visiteurs du site officiel de la municipalité de Rozaje - L’augmentation du nombre de visiteurs de Rozaje - Formation de nouvelles sociétés pour l’investissement dans des projets similaires

4. Sources de vérification - Observation - nombre de visiteurs du site web - Nombre de touristes et de visiteurs de Rozaje - Impressions des visiteurs – écrites - Couverture médiatique – locale, nationale, internet - Informations obtenues par les Secrétariats municipaux - Rapports de l’Organisation du Tourisme de Rozaje

5. Principaux groupes cibles - Visiteurs/touristes de Rozaje, du Monténégro, de Serbie, du Kosovo et population locale travaillant à l’étranger - Population locale

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- Journalistes

6. Programme des activités - Table ronde et étude/interviews “Définition du produit touristique unique de Rozaje” - Collection de données, de photographies et de documents municipaux officiels, d’information et de formulaires pour le site web - Création du site web officiel de la Municipalité de Rozaje, mise sur Internet et tenue à jour de: présentation des produits et services touristiques pour les citoyens (il n’y a pas de site officiel). Maintenance pour douze mois ensuite délégation à Rozaje. - Formation d’un web master de Rozaje pour le maintien du site et sa mise à jour - Publication de matériel: a) Guide touristique de Rozaje – brochure b) Cartes touristiques c) Présentation des produits originaux spécifiques– brochures et prospectus - Organisation d’une présentation de Rozaje lors d’une foire touristique - Distribution de matériel publicitaire

C. Estimation détaillée du budget / plan des dépenses Seront soumis ultérieurement sur demande

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PROPOSITION DE PROJET

Présentée par

Couverture géographique: CROATIE ORIENTALE

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SOMMAIRE DU PROJET

Données générales

1. Titre: “Centre consultatif pour les questions de développement local”

2. Date de départ: Après signature du contrat (en 2005)

3. Durée en mois: 12

4. Couverture géographique: Croatie orientale

5. Lieu de réalisation du projet: - Osijek; - municipalités bénéficiaires.

6. Types d’activités: - Sensibilisation des gouvernements locaux pour débuter les programmes de développement local (à travers des contacts directs – mémos, appels, meetings, présentations); - séminaires; - ateliers de travail; - tables rondes; - réunions consultatives 1-à-1 avec les municipalités; - campagnes médiatiques.

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7. Agence de réalisation Nom: Agence de la Démocratie Locale Osijek Personne de contact: Miljenko Turniški Adresse: Šetalište k. F. Šepera 8b, 31000 Osijek, Croatie Tél: +385 (0) 31 203 088 Fax: +385 (0) 31 203 087 E-mail: [email protected]

8. Compte bancaire de l’agence de réalisation

Nom entier du compte bancaire:

AGENCIJA LOKALNE DEMOKRACIJE Numéro de compte: 51875-2500-978-291746 IBAN nombre : no SWIFT: RZB HHR2X

Nom et adresse de la Banque : Raiffeisen bank Austria d.d. Petrinjska 59, 10000 Zagreb

9. Autres partenaires

10. Somme requise en EUROS =10,000.00

11. Financement par d’autres sources

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B. Contenu

1. Bref résumé

En l’état actuel, il n’existe pas d’institution en Croatie orientale qui soit spécifiquement orientée vers la résolution des questions de développement local. Considérant les ressources limitées des plus petits gouvernements locaux, il est très probable que le statu quo, s’il devait se prolonger, résulte en un manque sérieux d’initiatives de développement local, ce qui empêchera cette région de combler la lacune dont elle souffre en matière de développement en comparaison avec le reste du pays.

Seulement dans le comté de Osjecko-baranjska (environ la moitié de la région considérée), il y a 36 municipalités et 7 villes. Si elles devaient être abandonnées à leur sort, la plupart de ces municipalités n’entameraient jamais leurs initiatives de développement en raison d’un simple principe de Maslow : il y a un grand nombre de besoins fondamentaux auxquels ces municipalités doivent pourvoir en premier. Les quelques municipalités qui pourraient entamer leurs propres initiatives de développement sans une impulsion extérieure auraient à peine assez de capacité pour exercer une influence significative sur le taux de leur propre développement local.

Le rôle de ce projet est de donner l’impulsion initiale aux municipalités, les aider à combler les lacunes en matière de capacité et à atteindre le niveau critique de compétences requises pour le commencement d’activités de développement local.

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2. Objectifs spécifiques

- Stimuler autant de municipalités que possible dans la zone cible à lancer leurs initiatives de développement local dans le cadre théorique du projet Développement Economique Local dans les Balkans de l’Associations des Agences de la Démocratie Locale et du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères de la République française; - Transférer le savoir et l’expérience dans les questions de développement local accumulés par les communautés locale dans la République française (par le biais de lectures, de séminaires, d’ateliers de travail, de tables rondes, de visites d’études bilatérales); - Fournir un soutien sous forme de conseils aux initiatives de développement local des municipalités; - Coordonner les municipalités dans leurs efforts à construire leurs plans d’action locaux; - Stimuler les initiatives de développement inter municipal; - Faciliter l’émergence d’un plan de développement régional cohérent à travers l’harmonisation des initiatives de développement local; - Faciliter l’établissement de contacts entre les croates et les municipalités des pays membres de l’UE (particulièrement avec la fonction d’une assistance technique et du transfert de compétences).

3. Critères d’évaluation/indicateurs de réussite

Dans l’ordre d’importance: a) Nombre de municipalités incluses dans le projet; b) Nombre de sessions individuelles de conseil tenues; c) Nombre d’évènements organisés avec succès; d) Nombre d’initiatives locales de développement lancées;

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e) Nombre d’habitants indirectement touchés par les initiatives de développement local lancées; f) Nombre de contacts établis avec les municipalités des pays membres de l’UE.

4. Sources de vérification

En accord avec les indicateurs relevés au point 3 de cette Proposition:

ad a) Déclarations de Participation estampillées et signées;

ad b) Rapports d’activités et Relevés de présence;

ad c) inscriptions signées et estampillées sur la Feuille des Sessions de Conseils;

ad d) procès-verbal officiel des décisions par une personne autorisée par la municipalité ou autre preuve écrite;

ad e) recensement de la population des municipalités ayant lancé des initiatives d’après le dernier recensement officiel de la République de Croatie;

ad f) Déclarations signées et estampillées de la part des parties concernées.

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5. Principaux groupes cibles - Elus municipaux de la région cible; - Fonctionnaires non élus des municipalités de la région cible; - Représentants d’ONG; - Autres citoyens intéressés par les questions de développement local.

6. Programme des activités

Mois Activités Qui? Comment? 1.1. Préparations des Analyses et données réunions avec les gouvernements locaux. 1 Animateurs

1.2. Annonces par les Média médias 2.1 Préparations des Analyses et données 2 réunions avec les Animateurs

gouvernements locaux. 3.1 réunions avec les représentants des Animateurs, gouvernements locaux Gouv. locaux 3 Réunions et analyses

3.2 Contacts avec les partenaires étrangers 4.1 réunions avec les représentants des Animateurs, 4 gouvernements locaux Réunions et analyses Gouv. locaux et indentification des besoins

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4.2 Contacts avec les partenaires étrangers 5.1 Invitations au séminaire

5.2 Annonces par les Annonces par les médias au sujet du Animateurs, médias, 5 séminaire Conférenciers Séminaire 5.3 Organisation du séminaire 6.1 Invitations à l’atelier de travail

Annonces par les 6.2 Annonces par les Animateurs, médias, 6 médias au sujet de Conférenciers l’atelier de travail Atelier de travail

6.3 Organisation de l’atelier de travail 7.1 Arrivée partenaires Animateurs, 7 étrangers et échange Partenaires Réunions d’expérience étrangers Partenaires Sessions de conseil 8.1 Assistance technique étrangers, individuelles, 8 pratique de la part des Gouv. locaux. lectures/ateliers de partenaires étrangers travail 9.1 Préparation pour la Animateurs, Sessions de conseil 9 construction d’un plan Gouv. locaux. individuelles d’action local

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10.1 Construction du plan Gouv. Locaux Sessions de conseil d’action local et individuelles 10 commencement de sa réalisation Gouv. Locaux, 11 11.1 Evaluation Animateurs 12 12.1 Rapport Animateurs

C. Estimation détaillée du budget / plan des dépenses Seront soumis ultérieurement sur demande

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PROPOSITION DE PROJET

4.3.1.1.1.1 Présentée par Tullio Ferentich Umberto Ademollo Cristina Vojic

Couverture géographique: COMMUNE DE VERTENEGLIO

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SOMMAIRE du projet

A. Données générales

1. Titre : “Développement agro-touristique durable de la Commune de Verteneglio - Promotion de Verteneglio durant les quatre saisons”

2. Date de départ: après signature du contrat (en 2005)

3. Durée en mois: 8-12 mois

4. Couverture géographique: Commune de Verteneglio

5. Lieu de réalisation du projet: Verteneglio

6. Type d’activités : Promotion économique et développement économique du territoire durant toute l’année

7. Agence de réalisation Nom: LDA Verteneglio Personne de contact: Tullio Fernetich Adresse: P.zza S. Zenone 4 Tél.: 00385.52.774617 Fax: 00385.52.720424 E-mail: [email protected]

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8. Compte bancaire de l’agence de réalisation Nom entier du compte bancaire : ISTARSKA KREDITNA BANKA D.D. UMAG COD.SWIFT ISKBHR2X c.c. 7095-9917960 01 Anbasciata della Democarazia Locale IBAN number

Nom et adresse de la Banque : Istarska Kreditna Banka d.d. Umag Via Ernest Milos 1 52470 UMAG – CROATIE

10. Autres partenaires Association du Tourisme de Verteneglio

11. Somme requise en EUROS 10.000

12. Financement par d’autres sources Budget de l’Association Touristique de Verteneglio

B. Contenu

1. Bref résumé Réalisation d’une brochure de l’offre touristique et agro-touristique du territoire. La brochure serait réalisée en quatre langues principales au moins, aurait 16 pages, et serait le premier contact principal entre l’offre et la demande touristique et agro- touristique de la région. Réalisée en 5000 copies pour chaque langue, elle devrait être utilisée principalement pour des présentations lors de foires touristiques, agricoles,

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nationales et internationales, mais aussi distribuée dans les offices de tourisme, à l’entrée aux passages de frontière Durant l’été et à d’autres points d’information, et en dehors du pays. Révision de l’actuel site internet et sa mise à jour en accord avec les nouveaux choix stratégiques de développement local, le plan maître régional, la nouvelle identité visuelle et marketing. Ouverture d’un point de vente “on-line” géré directement par l’Association du Tourisme, qui serait chargée de le mettre à jour, en gardant contact avec les acteurs impliqués, en mettant constamment à jour l’offre et ses formes. Dans ce point de vente virtuel devraient être inclus les producteurs de vins de qualité de la région qui joignent la Route des Vins régionale et qui, avec le soutien de l’Association du Tourisme et de l’Agence de la Démocratie Locale, poursuivent leur route vers l’adhésion à l’Association “Città del vino”. Dans cette phase serait également incluse l’offre touristique, ou mieux l’offre des structures économiques qui ont trait au tourisme et qui vendent un produit d’intérêt touristique. Dans une seconde phase, la vente “on-line” devrait être élargie également à d’autres catégories, métiers ou produits touristiques. Le point de vente “on-line” donnerait la possibilité d’inclure notre offre dans le point de vente “on-line” de l’ Association “Città del vino”, gérée à un niveau national en Italie, et à laquelle nos producteurs de vin ne sont pas capables de se joindre individuellement.

2. Objectifs spécifiques La structure économique du territoire et les directives de développement sont relativement claires. Le territoire considéré mesure un peu plus de 40 km2 et a moins de 2000 habitants. Il est situé en Croatie, dans la partie nord-est de la péninsule. Il se trouve à environ dix kilomètres de la frontière slovène et de l’Italie ou plus précisément de la ville de Trieste, avec laquelle nous partageons une partie de l’histoire récente, moins de 40 kilomètres. Le territoire de la municipalité est touché par la mer adriatique, et des municipalités qui sont parmi les plus

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développées dans le secteur touristique l’entourent. Verteneglio, avec 1% de la population de la région d’Istrie, produit 10% de la production de vin régionale. Verteneglio est la seule municipalité qui fait partie de l’Association italienne nationale Cité de Vin et de l’Association européenne Recevine. Dans le Plan Maître du développement touristique et régional d’Istrie, approuvé en 2004, Verteneglio a été désignée comme un centre de tourisme rural et du vin, principalement en relation avec ce produit. Sur la côte municipale il y a un important camping qui réalise Durant l’été plus de 200’000 nuitées. Sur le territoire en question il existe différentes structures qui ont tous les potentiels pour accroître le développement de leur produit, et génèrent de cette façon les conditions pour être plus largement connu également hors du territoire, tant national qu’international, considérant la position géographique près de la frontière avec l’Union Européenne. Nous faisons référence au fait que nous avons des producteurs agricoles de bonne qualité et des produits agricoles de haute qualité, et par dessus tout des matières premières de la terre comme de la mer de qualité supérieure, reconnues au- delà des frontières également. Nous parlons de poissons, truffes, viande, jambon d’Istrie, légumes, des herbes aromatiques uniques, et tout un tas d’autres choses. Le vin, comme nous l’avons déjà dit, représente notre “emblème”, et dans la région nous sommes certainement à la première place. Le secteur de l’industrie des restaurants en est à des niveaux modérés. Il n’y a pas beaucoup de structures touristiques dans notre municipalité, mais nous sommes situés au milieu d’une région touristique de grande importance. Dans la définition de stratégies de développement nous n’avons pas oublié les traditions et le potentiel représenté par les ressources humaines, principalement dans le domaine de l’agriculture. Le fait qu’un grand nombre de travailleurs passe régulièrement la frontière pour aller travailler à Trieste est un important facteur à prendre en considération. De plus, tous ces gens ne paient pas d’impôt à l’endroit où ils vivent ; ils ne prennent pas part à la vie sociale et au développement du territoire. Une autre donnée que nous devons prendre en compte est le fait que tous les produits de la région sont des produits de haute qualité, mais quantitativement pas très

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importants pour le marché international. Nous devons également prendre en considération que le 35% du tourisme de la Croatie est réalise en Istrie, et que le nord- est de l’Istrie, où est situé Verteneglio, représente une destination gastronomique à laquelle un nombre important d’Italiens du nord-est ne renoncent pas. Le plus grand problème est le manque de synergie entre les sujets du territoire. Notre bon producteur n’a pas la capacité économique ou administrative suffisante pour faire sa propre promotion sur le marché global. Le teneur d’hôtel fait face aux mêmes problèmes de manière remarquable lorsqu’il se voit force d’établir sa place sur le marché, entourés par des entreprises d’un secteur plus gros secteur, bien structures, avec de hautes capacités à percer le marché et dans certains cas des marques très appréciées depuis des années. Un autre problème est que les petits producteurs de vin n’ont pas la possibilité d’organiser ni de s’offrir leur propre point de vente au sein de leur petite entreprise. Aujourd’hui il n’est pas suffisant d’être un bon fermier ou de bien cuisiner, le produit doit être vendu. Dans ce marché global, nous avons besoin d’être reconnu et distingué. Pour réussir, en plus d’un bon produit, des moyens et du savoir-faire sont nécessaires. Le produit du territoire doit être diffusé en plus grande quantité, valorisé et protégé. Dans certains cas les quantités du produit doivent être résolues, définies, standardisées et réévaluées. Tout ceci mène à des coûts insoutenables pour les réalités de la petite économie de la région. Créer une marque, nous autoréguler dans les standards qualitatifs, valoriser et faire la promotion des produits autochtones, l’encouragement et la promotion des avantages de la production biologique, encourager et aider les jeunes à travailler à la maison, pouvoir répondre à leurs besoins de tous les jours.

3. Critères d’évaluation/indicateurs de réussite o Augmentation de l’intérêt pour Verteneglio; o Augmentation de la présence touristique; o Augmentation de la vente de produits touristiques;

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o Synergie entre tous les sujets et institutions touristiques;

4. Sources de vérification o Statistiques effectuées par l’Association du Tourisme de Verteneglio et l’Association du Tourisme régionale; o Données financières fournies par les producteurs de vin et les producteurs d’huile d’olive; o Données financières des tenanciers d’hôtels, de restaurants, de logement, des agriculteurs…

5. Principaux groupes cibles o Sujets travaillant dans le secteur touristique qui promeuvent un produit touristique o Les producteurs de vin o Les producteurs d’huile d’olive o Les restaurants o Fermes de vacances o Tenanciers d’hôtels o Logements privés o Agriculteurs

6. Programme des activités Comme déjà mentionné au début de la description du projet, il n’y a pas eu de problème particulier dans les choix exposés, considérant les instructions de développement de la municipalité – qui sont partagées par tous. Le fait que ce projet puisse être réalisé à travers des phases bien définies est également très important, puisque pour le moment nous ne disposons pas des moyens nécessaires pour le réaliser d’une manière complète, comme décrit. Dans la première phase nous devrions bénéficier des structures et des membres de l’Association du Tourisme de Verteneglio, qui est l’institution qui poursuit le

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développement agro-touristique de la région. Sont inclus dans la structure, basée sur la Loi de la République de Croatie, le Maire et deux membres du Conseil municipal. L’Association du Tourisme, dans le cadre de ses possibilités, fait des efforts remarquables pour promouvoir le potentiel touristique et agro-touristique de la région, et grâce au réseau de partenariats créé par l’Agence de la Démocratie Locale ces dernières années, nous pouvons dire que nous avons réussi à atteindre des résultats considérables, certainement soulignés par l’adhésion de la ville au réseau italien et européen “Città del vino”. o Nomination du responsable pour la réalisation du projet o Réalisation de la brochure (engagement d’un expert en marketing, de bons designers et photographe) o Réalisation du web site (en accord avec le style et le design de la brochure d’offre touristique et agro-touristique) o Coordination avec tous les participants du tourisme et de l’agrotourisme o Ouverture d’un point de vente “on-line” avec l’aide d’un bon web master o Commencement d’une action de Promotion (distribution des brochures avec information sur le site web et sur le point de vente “on-line” à des foires spéciales, touristiques, agricoles, nationales et internationales, publicité dans des magazines spécialisés et des journaux, mais également distribués dans des offices de tourismes, à l’entrée aux passages de frontière durant l’été et dans d’autres points d’Info, et hors du pays.)

C. Estimation détaillée du budget / plan des dépenses Seront soumis ultérieurement sur demande

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Annexes, Budget of the project « Local economic development in the Balkans »

BUDGET OF THE PROJECT: “LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE BALKANS"

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Annexes, Budget of the project “Local Economic Development in the Balkans”

Programme pour le MAE France, Project pilote, développement local dans les Balkans Coûts ressources unité n.unités coût unité coût total Suresnes villes hôtes ADL ALDA Assoc Partenaires CUF MAE COMITE DIRECTEUR Betton ADL (Suresnes) mont voyage participants voyage 25 400 10000 4400 5600 (22 part.+ALDA+form+1montenegro) per diem jours 50 152 7600 3800 3800 matériel forfait 200 200 traduction jours 2 500 1000 1000 Location salle jours 2 300 600 600 responsible Suresnes jours 2 375 750 750

FORMATION D'ANIMATEURS (Centre et Sud de la Serbie) participants (22) formateurs (2) ALDA (1) voyage 23 400 9200 9200 per diem jours 230 60 13800 6000 7800 (23*10) formateurs (honoraires) jours 20 500 10000 10000 location salle jours 10 300 3000 3000 matériel forfait 2000 500 1500 responsible local jours 15 100 1500 500 1000 participants experts françai jours 30 400 12000 4000 8000 (3 personnes) - journées de travail voyages voyages 3 400 1200 1200 participants experts français per diem jours 30 75 2250 750 1500 expert association betton Montenegro Voyage 1 400 400 400 per diem Jours 10 75 750 750 expertise jours 10 150 1500 500 1000 REUNION DU GROUPE DE TRAVAIL ET DEFINITION DES PLANS D'ACTIONS responsables locaux (11 responsables pour 6 mois) mois 66 400 26400 7000 19400 mise à disposition des locaux des ADL pour le groupe de mois 66 150 9900 9900 matériel par ADL 11 500 2500 2500 frais de réunions par ADL 11 500 5500 3500 2000 Assistence technique par ADL 11 500 5500 1000 4500 voyage assistance tech voyage 5 400 2000 2000 per diem assistance tecnhiqjour 15 75 1125 1125 Montenegro Voyage 2 400 800 800 per diem Jours 6 75 450 450 expertise jours 6 150 900 500 400 echanges Sanjak/france voyages 10 400 4000 4000 per diem échanges jours 100 100 10000 10000 PLAN S D'ACTIONS rédaction par ADL 11 500 5500 2500 3000 impression 1900 1000 900

COORDINATION réseau avec les experts français forfait 6000 6000 Responsible de project ALDA mois 12 1000 12000 6000 6000 Administration mois 12 500 6000 4500 1500 Audit 1500 1000 500 179725 7300 22900 13000 28825 12200 9500 6000 80000

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Toutes les années Dépenses Unité # d'unités Coût Coûts (en unitaire EUR)

1. Ressources humaines 1.1 Salaires (montants bruts, personnel local) 1.1.1 Technique 0 responsables des groupes locaux (11 groupes locaux pour 6 mois) mois 66 400 26400 honraires des formateurs (10 jours de formation) jours 20 500 10000 participants experts français jours 30 400 12000 responsables locaux de l'organisation de la formation jours 10 150 1500 expert redaction plan d'actions plans 11 500 5500 experts développement réseau français mois 10 600 6000 responsible local comité directeur jour 2 375 750 assistance technique pour la réalisation des plans d'actions per ADL 11 500 5500 expertise association betton monténegro jours 16 150 2400 1.1.2 Administratif/ personnel de soutien 0 directeur ALDA ( responsible de projet) mois 12 1000 12000 1.2 Salaires (montants bruts, personnel expatrié/international) 0 1.3 Per diems pour missions/voyages 1.3.1 A l'étranger (personnel pour le projet) Per diem 0 participants comité directeur jours 50 152 7600 per diem formation (22 participants + 2 formateurs + 1 ALDA) jours 230 60 13800 per diem experts français jours 30 75 2250 per diem assistance tecnhique jours 15 75 1125 per diem association betton monténégro jours 10 120 1200 per diem échanges avec Betton Sanjak jours 100 100 10000 1.3.2 Sur place (personnel pour le projet) Per diem 0 1.3.3 Participants aux séminaires/conférences/formations Per diem 0 Sous-total Ressources humaines 118025

2.Voyages 2.1. Voyages internationaux Par vol 0 voyage du comité directeur vols 25 400 10000 voyages formation de formateurs vols 23 400 9200 voyages experts français vols 3 400 1200 voyages assistance technique vol 5 400 2000 voyage association betton monténégro vol 3 400 1200 voyages échange d'expérience Sanjak/France vol 10 400 4000 2.2. Trajets locaux (au-delà de 200 km) Par mois 0 Sous-total Voyages 27600

3. Matériel et fournitures*** 3.1 Achat ou location de véhicules Par véhicule 0 3.2 Mobilier, matériel d'ordinateur 0 3.3 Pièces détachées/matériel pour machines, outils 0 3.4 Autre(spécifier en détail) 0 matériel pour comité directeur forfait 200 matériel pour formation forfait 2000 matériel réunion des groupes de travail (11 groupes) forfait 5500 Sous-total Matériel et fournitures 7700

4. Bureau local/coûts du projet 4.1 Coût du/des véhicules Par mois 0 4.2 Location de bureaux Par mois 0 location de la salle du comité directeur jours 2 300 600 location salle pour formation jours 10 300 3000 locaux pour les groupes de travail jours 66 150 9900 4.3 Consommables - Fournitures de bureau Par mois 0 frais de réunions des groupes de travail groupes 11 227,2727 2500

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Toutes les années Dépenses Unité # d'unités Coût unitaire Coûts (en (en EUR) EUR)

5. Autres coûts, services 5.1 Publications** 0 publication des plan d'action plans d'action 11 172,7272727 1900 5.2 Etudes, recherche** 0 5.3 Coûts d'audit 0 Audit 1500 5.4 Coûts d'évaluation 0 5.5 Traduction, interprètes 0 traduction pour le comité de direction jours 2 500 1000 5.6 Services financiers (coûts de garantie bancaire, etc) 0 5.7 Coûts des conférences/séminaires/formations 0 Sous-total autres coûts, services 4400

6. Autre (spécifier en détail) 0 Sous-total Autre 0

7. Sous-total Coûts directs du project (1.-6.) 173725 8. Coûts administratifs 6000 11. Coûts totaux (9.+10.) 179725

RESSOURCES EUR du total %

contribuiton du proposant 28825 16%

Ministère des Affaires Etrangères 80000 45%

Ville de Suresnes 7300 5% villes hôtes des ADL 22900 12% ADL 13000 7% partnenaires ADL 9500 5% CUF 6000 3% Ass Betton Montenegro 12200 7%

TOTAL 179725 100%

298

ALDA’s Statute

with the support of

(11) 32

Proposal for changes to the Statute of the Association of the Local Democracy Agencies To be submitted to the Governing Board and to an extraordinary General Assembly in 2005

Proposed by Per Vinther and Keith Jones

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Introduction

As the context in which our Association is active is constantly changing - and as a number of past and upcoming decisions will require an amendment of the ALDA Statute in any case - the Bureau has carried out a general review of the provisions of the Statute, the result of which it presents to the Governing Board for approval with a view to a decision by an Extraordinary General Assembly later this year as set out in article 24 of the Statute.95

The amendments proposed pertain to Parts I, II, and III of the Statute, some addressing the substance, some being only of a cosmetic nature. Below is a brief introduction of the changes to the substance, however, all the proposed changes will be presented to members at the Governing Board meeting:

PART I – CONSTITUTION AND AIMS

• Abolishing a geographical limitation of the activities of the Association (Preamble). • Allowing, in order to facilitate the daily management of the Association, the establishment of branch offices of the Association by decision of the Governing Board (art 2). • Inclusion of a specific reference to the aspiration of LDA host countries to move closer to the European integration process (art 3,10). • Opening the possibility of the Association withdrawing the designation “Local Democracy Agency” from an agency (art 4,a).

95 Article 24 – Amendment of the Statute Any amendments to the Statute, including changes regarding the purpose of the Association, may be decided at an extraordinary General Assembly in accordance with article 14. Decisions shall be limited to whether to adopt or reject draft amendments approved by a majority of two thirds of the members of the Governing Board.

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PART II – COMPOSITION OF THE ASSOCIATION, MEMBERS AND ORGANS OF THE ASSOCIATION (A change of the title of this part is also proposed as it does not properly reflect its content)

• Adding as statutory members of the Association the three members of the Congress appointed by the Congress Bureau who are already mentioned as members of the Governing Board (art 6,b). • Deletion of the possibility of having a representative of the European Commission as a statutory member (art 6,b). • Adding the Local Democracy Agencies as statutory members (art 6,b).

PART III – ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATION (A change of the title of this part is also proposed as it does not properly reflect its content)

• Making it explicit that election of members of the Governing Board takes place every four years (art 13). • Ensuring that the General Assembly is chaired by an active member who is not a member of the Bureau (art 13). • Including the Chairperson of the LDA Delegates’ Advisory Committee as a full member of the Governing Board (art 15 and 16). • Adding - as decided at the General Assembly in 2004 - that National Associations of Local and Regional Authorities who are members of the Association may participate in the meetings of the Governing Board as observers with a right to speak but not to vote. • Specifying that the President may assign specific responsibilities to the two Vice- Presidents (art 15,b).

There are no changes proposed to the remaining parts of the Statute.

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ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL DEMOCRACY AGENCIES

Established on the initiative of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Strasbourg, 23rd of June 2005

STATUTE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL DEMOCRACY AGENCIES

signed in Strasbourg on 14 December 1999 and revised at the Extraordinary General Assembly on 5 December 2001 and at the Extraordinary General Assembly on 17 June 2005

Document prepared by the Secretariat of the LDA Association

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ALDA’s Statute

PART I - CONSTITUTION AND AIMS

4.3.2 Preamble

Local Democracy Agencies were introduced by the Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe in 1993. They are based on partnership between local and regional authorities and non-governmental organisations which seeks, in geographical areas where the LDAs’ work helps to achieve the aims of the LDA programme, to promote civil society and local democracy in the wide sense of the term by setting up a permanent presence in the host towns and regions. Local Democracy Agencies contribute to the implementation of the aims of the Council of Europe and the achievement of a greater unity between its members and their citizens, as well as to the safeguard and realisation of the ideals and principles which are their common heritage, in the keeping with Article 1 of the Statute of the Organisation.

In particular the aims of the Local Democracy Agencies are to

- contribute to developing civil society for a peaceful coexistence, foster mutual acquaintance and understanding and improve life conditions ; - promote the democratic transition and the European integration of local and regional authorities through exchange of experience and know-how and cooperation between partner local and regional authorities and civil society organisations; - strengthen the democratic process, in line with the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, and to put in hand confidence-building measures (in accordance with the scheme devised by the Council of Europe) through intercultural activities, human rights and peace education ; - combat racism, intolerance and xenophobia by implementing non-violent solutions;

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- actively promote a pluralist society and protect multicultural and multireligious societies; - encourage the development of unbiased and pluralist information; - encourage local development projects and, if case arises, reconstruction of local infrastructures ; - in general, promote dialogue and mediation.

The role of Local Democracy Agencies is to promote respect for human rights in general and to help implement the democratic process in all sectors of local life.

Article 1 - Constitution and name

A non-profit-making association is hereby set up under the name “Association of Local Democracy Agencies” (hereinafter “the Association”). It shall be governed by Articles 21 to 79 of the local Civil Code for Alsace and Moselle and by this Statute.

It shall be registered in the Register of Associations of the Strasbourg District Court.

The Association is an international non-governmental organisation with no profit- making, political or religious purpose.

Article 2 – Headquarters

The Association shall have its headquarters at Strasbourg. The headquarters may be transferred by decision of the Governing Board to any other place in the region of Alsace, subject to ratification at the following General Assembly. Subject to approval by the Governing Board the Association may establish subsidiaries when such subsidiaries are deemed beneficial to the smooth administration and operation of the Association. Subsidiaries must be subject to the law and agreements in force in the country in which they are established.

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Article 3 – Aims

The aim of the Association is to foster international partnership with a view to furthering the goals of the Local Democracy Agencies programme. In particular, its purpose shall be to:

1. facilitate relations between the LDAs, their partners (municipalities, regions or NGOs, including the host town or region) and the Council of Europe, in particular the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe (hereinafter the Congress), ensuring their consistency as part of an overall project ;

2. establish priorities for the preservation of existing LDAs and the creation of new ones;

3. promote partnerships between local and regional authorities in greater Europe ;

4. build up a network of LDAs capable of meeting the requirements of local partners and acting as a relay for a number of the international community’s activities, in particular those of the European institutions, thus ensuring that ALDA and LDA activities respect and assist the rapprochement of the host countries to the European Union ;

5. manage the LDA network so as to promote local democracy, involving the organs of the Council of Europe (the Secretary General, the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress, etc.) and the European Union (the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions) in the decision-making bodies and fostering co-operation between the Local Democracy Agencies ;

6. serve as an interface between the LDAs and the relevant departments of the Council of Europe, including with a view to facilitating the access to Council of Europe and European Union co-operation programmes ;

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7. train the Delegates and the senior local staff in management and local project leadership techniques ;

8. monitor the work done by the Delegates and the LDA staff, including financial management ;

9. promote contact, co-ordination and the dissemination of information between LDA partners, foundations, public and private bodies (national or international), appropriate governmental and non-governmental organisations and the LDAs ;

10. promote LDA activities in order to develop a new form of decentralised, international co-operation based on intermunicipal, interregional and intercommunity relations in Europe.

Article 4 - Means of action

In the pursuit of its aims, the Association shall: a. award or withdraw the designation “Local Democracy Agency” in accordance with the principles established by the Governing Board and subject to the Board’s prior approval ; b. draw up bilateral agreements with each Local Democracy Agency, taking account of local realities and partnership arrangements in laying down both parties’ rights and obligations ; c. provide appropriate assistance to partners in different countries who wish to participate in the Local Democracy Agencies programme or assist the LDAs’ activities ; d. assist the LDAs in developing, managing and following up their initiatives ;

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e. facilitate the development of and contact between initiatives which match the Association’s aims while fostering and helping to co-ordinate new projects ; f. advise public authorities, private bodies and voluntary associations ; g. manage any funds, earmarked or unearmarked, received to promote the LDA programme and LDAs’activities and, as far as possible, help to raise such funds; h. launch information and awareness-raising campaigns aimed in particular at local and regional authorities in Council of Europe member countries, but also at foundations and non-governmental organisations ; i. develop relations with governmental organisations, the European Union and non- governmental organisations active in fields similar to its own field of activity.

Article 5 – Duration

The Association shall be set up for an indefinite period.

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PART II - MEMBERSHIP OF THE ASSOCIATION

Article 6 - Members of the Association

The Association shall comprise:

- honorary members, - statutory members, - active members. a. The honorary members shall be distinguished figures invited by the Governing Board to support the Association’s initiatives. b. The statutory members shall be :

1.representatives of the organisations represented on the Governing Board:

- one member appointed by the President Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; - one member appointed by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe ; - one member appointed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (subject to confirmation) ; - the President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe ; - three members of the Congress appointed by its Bureau, among which at least one representative from one of the countries hosting Local Democracy Agencies ;

2. The Local Democracy Agencies, which are established legal persons, represented by the Delegate.

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3. Other organisations giving support to the LDAs may also be invited by the General Assembly to become statutory members of the Association. c. The active members shall be public or private legal entities or persons who wish to take part in the Association’s activities on a regular basis and help it to achieve its objectives. Active members of the Association are in particular representatives of municipalities, regions, national or regional associations of local and regional authorities or Non Governmental Organisations, which are partners of an LDA.

Article 7 - Conditions of membership

Decisions concerning admission of members shall be taken by the Governing Board except in the case of statutory members, who shall be appointed by the organisations they represent. The Governing Board shall not be required to state its reasons for refusing membership. All applications for membership shall be submitted in writing, and each member, on joining the Association, shall receive a copy of this Statute and agree to abide by it and to participate in the Association’s activities.

Article 8 - Membership fees

Active members shall pay an annual membership fee as determined by the General Assembly. The members referred to in Article 6, paragraphs a and b. above shall not be required to pay a fee. Active members from LDA host countries pay only half of the ordinary annual membership fee.

Article 9 - Entrance fees

The General Assembly shall be free at any time to decide that new members must pay entrance fees and to fix the amount thereof.

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Article 10 - Termination of membership

Membership may be terminated:

- by resignation, submitted to the President in writing; - by expulsion by decision of the General Assembly, for any act causing pecuniary or non-pecuniary damage to the Association;

- by expulsion by the Governing Board for failure to pay the membership fee within the time set by the General Assembly and after written notice; - through death, when the member is a natural person.

Before any decision is taken to expel a member, the member concerned shall be invited by registered letter to submit any comments or explanations concerning the proposed decision to the Governing Board.

PART III – ORGANS OF THE ASSOCIATION ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATION

Article 11 - Organs of the Association

The organs of the Association shall be the General Assembly, the Governing Board and the Bureau.

Article 12 - Provisions governing all General Assemblies

The General Assembly shall be called the LDA Assembly. It shall be composed of all members of the Association.

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Ordinary sessions of the General Assembly shall be convened by the President once a year and whenever required by the interests of the Association. Extraordinary sessions shall be convened by the President at the request of the Governing Board, the Bureau or one third of the members of the Association within a maximum period of two months after the request was made.

Members shall receive notice of the sessions, together with the agenda set by the Governing Board, by personal letter at least fifteen days in advance.

Unless otherwise stipulated in this Statute, decisions of the General Assembly shall be reached by a majority of the members present or represented and entered in a register of the minutes signed by the President and Secretary of the meeting.

Meetings of the General Assembly shall be chaired by one of the members present, appointed by simple majority. The Bureau of the Assembly shall be that of the Association.

Only members present or represented may cast votes. Proxy votes shall be limited to two per member present. The proxies shall be sent in advance to the Secretary of the Association, who shall compile a list of the names, to be appended to the minutes of the meeting. An attendance sheet signed by each member present shall also be appended to the minutes.

The Governing Board may authorise a postal vote on items on the agenda of any General Assembly.

4.3.2.1 Article 13 - Ordinary General Assembly

The ordinary General Assembly shall set the Association’s activities in broad outline and lay down guidelines for developing those activities. It shall monitor conduct of those activities and approve the annual management report. It shall also:

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- elect every four years the members of the Governing Board ;

- adopt and amend the rules of procedure; - approve the annual report of the Governing Board ; - approve the accounts for the previous financial year ; - adopt the budget for the following financial year ; - appoint an Auditor from outside the Governing Board ; - order expulsions of active members as provided for in Article 10 ; - fix membership and entrance fees.

The ordinary General Assembly shall take its decisions by a majority of the members present or represented. Public or private legal entities have 2 votes each and individual members and LDA Delegates 1 vote each. Voting shall be by show of hands unless at least one quarter of the members present request a secret ballot.

The General Assembly appoints by simple majority a chairperson among the members present.

Article 14 - Extraordinary General Assembly

For its decisions to be valid, the extraordinary General Assembly must comprise at least half the members of the Association plus one.

The extraordinary General assembly shall : - adopt amendments to the Statute ; - decide to wind up the Association where appropriate ; - decide on any other matter referred to it by the person who requested the extraordinary session in accordance with Article 12.

In the absence of a quorum, the extraordinary General Assembly shall be reconvened two weeks later. It may then deliberate whatever the number of members present.

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Decisions concerning amendments to the Statute or the dissolution of the Association shall require a two-thirds majority of the votes of the members present or represented. Voting shall be by show of hands unless at least one quarter of the members present request a secret ballot.

Article 15 - The Governing Board and the Bureau a. The Association shall have a Governing Board, called the LDA Board, composed of eleven to seventeen members with the right to vote.

The Governing Board shall comprise: - the member appointed by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ; - the member appointed by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe ; - the member appointed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (subject to confirmation) ; - the President of the Congress; - three members of the Congress appointed by the its Bureau, among which at least one representative from one of the countries hosting Local Democracy Agencies ; - the Chair of the LDA Delegates’ Advisory Committee.

Between three and nine active members shall also be elected to the Governing Board by the General Assembly for a period of four years ensuring, as far as possible, the representation of towns and regions hosting LDAs as well as a geographical balance. Outgoing members may be re-elected.

When a vacancy occurs (through death, resignation or expulsion), the Governing Board shall arrange for the replacement of the outgoing elected member, subject to ratification by the following General Assembly.

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The President may at his or her own initiative, after consultation of the members of the Bureau, invite knowledgeable personalities to attend the meetings of the Governing Board as Special Guests.

The Governing Board shall be responsible for running the Association in between General Assemblies, cf. paragraph b. below.

Meetings of the Governing Board shall be convened at least once a year and whenever necessary by the President or at the request of a majority of its members. Decisions of the Governing Board shall be taken by a simple majority, the President having a deciding vote. Half the members, present or represented, shall constitute a quorum. The decisions of the Governing Board shall be recorded in a register of the minutes of its meetings. Where appropriate, on his or her own initiative or at the suggestion of the Association Secretary, after consultation of the members of the Bureau, the President may invite outsiders to attend meetings of the Governing Board in an advisory capacity in connection with an item on the agenda. In particular the President of the Association, if he considers it appropriate, can invite the President of the European Parliament to designate a representative to participate in a meeting of the Governing Board.

National Associations of Local and Regional Authorities who are members of the Association may participate in the meetings of the Governing Board as observers with the right to speak but not to vote.

The Chairperson of the Scientific Committee attends as observer with the right to speak but not to vote.

b. The Governing Board shall be responsible for the management and administration of the Association within the meaning of Article 26 of the local Civil Code. In particular, it shall:

- decide on the hiring or dismissal of Association staff ; - adopt the draft budget and draft agenda of the General Assembly ;

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- be entitled to delegate its powers to the Bureau or the President.

Its main tasks shall be to:

- ensure the good functioning of LDAs ; - set the requirements for awarding and withdrawing the designation “Local Democracy Agency” and give its opinion concerning annual renewal of the LDA designation ; - approve the appointment of the Delegate nominated by an LDA’s partners while making sure that he or she meets the criteria set by the Association96; - co-ordinate in any other appropriate manner action by European local and regional authorities for the development of civil society and local democracy ; - improve co-ordination of the programme ; - in preparing bilateral conventions (see article 4.b), ensure the definition of the role and obligations of the partner towns and NGOs and the responsibilities of the Delegates while preserving the Delegates’ ability to take flexible and independent action, in which the project’s strength and originality lie ; - assure the Delegates, who perform a difficult front-line task, of the Association’s support and that of its members.

c. The Governing Board shall elect a Bureau from among its members comprising:

- the President of the Association ; - the 1st and 2nd Vice-Presidents of the Association ; - the Treasurer of the Association ; - the Secretary of the Association ; - one of the members appointed by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe ;

96 These criteria could be set out in a separate document approved by the General Assembly and based on the sections entitled “Permanent presence” and “Duties of the Delegate” in the Appendix to Resolution 73 (1998) of the Congress.

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- the member appointed by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers ;

The members of the Bureau shall be elected for the term of office of the Governing Board and may be re-elected. The ranking of the Vice-Presidents shall be determined by their seniority in that office or, failing that, by age. In the event of a tie when electing members of the Bureau, the Governing Board shall hold a partial election at the earliest possible opportunity. Decisions of the Bureau shall be taken by a simple majority, the President holding a deciding vote.

The Bureau and the President, in liaison with the Director, are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Association.

d. The President shall pursue the aims and objectives of the Association, chair the meetings of the Governing Board and the Bureau and represent the Association in legal proceedings and in all official business. The President may assign specific tasks to the two Vice-Presidents. e. The Treasurer shall have particular responsibility for overseeing the financial and budgetary affairs of the Association and its accounts. In liaison with the Secretary of the Association and the accountant, he or she shall prepare the end-of-year financial report for presentation to the General Assembly, as well as helping to raise funds. f. The Secretary of the Association, with the help of the Director, ensures the secretariat of the meetings of the Association and keeps the registers of the Association. g. The management of the activities of the Association is confided to the Director of the Association. The rules of procedure shall specify the respective powers of the President, the Treasurer and the Secretary of the Association, inter alia as regards authorising the settlement of expenditure and the delegation of powers. The President and the Governing Board may delegate certain of their powers within the limits laid down in the Statute and in law applying to the Association .

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Article 16 – LDA Delegates’ Advisory Committee

An LDA Delegates’ Advisory Committee shall be set up within the Association. This committee shall comprise all the LDA Delegates and shall elect a Chair, who shall be a full member of the Governing Board.

The Governing Board shall consult the LDA Delegates’ Advisory Committee on all questions concerning the day-to-day management of the LDAs and the implementation of the Association’s programme of activities.

Article 17 – Scientific Committee of the LDA Association

The Association can set up a Scientific Committee, the composition of which will be approved by the Governing Board.

This Committee can be consulted, notably via electronic mail, on the general guidelines of the Association or the individual LDA in order to contribute efficiently to the deepening of the reflection within the Association.

The members of this Committee can be solicited as « resource persons » by the Association.

Article 18 – Members’ expenses

The posts of member of the Governing Board and member of the Bureau shall not be remunerated.

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Article 19 – The Director of the Association and the staff

A Director of the Association shall be responsible for managing the Association’s activities.

The Director of the Association shall be appointed by the Governing Board after advertisement of the post. The duties of Director of the Association are incompatible with membership of the Association. A Director who is a member of the Association at the time of his or her appointment shall give up membership for the duration of the term of office. The Governing Board shall be empowered to dismiss the Director of the Association for serious misconduct or in the event that the personal and professional requirements that justified his or her appointment are no longer fulfilled.

The Director of the Association assists the Secretary of the Association in drafting the minutes of the different organs of the Association. The post of Director may be remunerated on a part-time or full-time basis insofar as the Association’s financial situation permits it and the work justifies it.

The Association shall operate with staff (full-time or part-time) seconded to it by the institutions to which its members belong or recruited by the Association itself. In the event of secondment, the staff shall remain subject to the law applicable to the institution which seconded them, subject to the special provisions set forth in the agreements between the Association and the institution concerned. When the Association recruits staff itself, such staff shall be subject to the law and agreements in force in the country in which they perform their duties.

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PART IV – RESOURCES OF THE ASSOCIATION – ACCOUNTS

Article 20 – Resources of the Association

The Association’s resources shall comprise: a. membership fees ; b. funding contributed by various partners for specific projects ; c. contributions in cash or in kind from national or international public institutions supporting the Association ; d. voluntary contributions, donations and legacies ; e. any other lawful resources that can be mustered ; f. income from the property and assets of the Association ; g. admission fees, where appropriate.

Article 21 – Liability of the members

Liability for commitments entered into by the Association shall be confined solely to the assets of the Association. No member of the Association, including those participating in its administration, may be held personally liable.

Article 22 – Accounts

A set of Financial Rules shall lay down how the accounts of the Association are to be managed in accordance with principles commonly accepted at international level.

The budget of the Association shall be drawn up for the period 1 January to 31 December each year.

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Article 23 – Auditor

The accounts kept by the Treasurer shall be verified annually by the Auditor appointed by the General Assembly.

The Auditor shall present to the ordinary General Assembly, responsible for approving the accounts, a written report on the verifications carried out.

The Auditor shall not occupy any function on the Governing Board.

PART V – AMENDMENT OF THE STATUTE

Article 24 – Amendment of the Statute

Any amendments to the Statute, including changes regarding the purpose of the Association, may be decided at an extraordinary General Assembly in accordance with Article 14. Decisions shall be limited to whether to adopt or reject draft amendments approved by a majority of two thirds of the members of the Governing Board.

PART VI – DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION

Article 25 – Dissolution

A General Assembly specially convened for the purpose, as provided for in Article 14 of this Statute, may order the dissolution of the Association. The Assembly shall deliberate in accordance with the provisions of Article 14.

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Article 26 – Disposal of assets

In the event of dissolution, the extraordinary General Assembly shall appoint one or more liquidators to dispose of the Association’s assets and shall determine their powers. The net assets shall be deposited with one or more other associations pursuing similar aims, to be designated by name by the extraordinary General Assembly. Under no circumstances shall dissolution of the Association cause damage to third parties. All commitments entered into by the Association and all contracts concluded by it with other parties or entities shall be terminated in the proper legal or regulatory manner upon dissolution.

PART VII – RULES OF PROCEDURE ADMINISTRATIVE FORMALITIES

Article 27 – Rules of procedure

The Governing Board shall draw up a set of Rules of Procedure for approval by the ordinary General Assembly.

Article 28 – Interim measures

The President elected at the Constituent Assembly shall be empowered to send this Statute to the Strasbourg District Court. This Statute was approved by us, the founding members forming the Constituent Assembly of the Association.

Done at Strasbourg this day of 14 December 1999.

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By Jessica Biondani

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Balkans’ maps – Croatia and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

- Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, rapporteur Mildon Y., 10th Anniversary Report of the Local Democracy Agencies Programme – Partnership for the benefit of local democracy, intercultural dialogue and trans-frontier cooperation in Greater Europe, CG (10)8, Strasbourg 16 May 2003. - Council of Europe – Directorate of Co-operation for Local and Regional Democracy (DG I – Legal Affairs) and the Secretariat of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, Strengthening Local Democracy and Developing Cross-Border Co-operation in South-Eastern Europe, Strasbourg, 8 April 2005. - Council of Europe and Istituto di Sociologia Internazionale di Gorizia, Cross- Border Co-operation in the Balkan-Danube Area, Gorizia, 2003. - Dérens J.A., Balkans: la crise, Folio Actuel Le Monde, Editions Gallimard, Mesnil-sur-l’Estrée, 2000. - Inman C., Strategic Framework for Development of Sustainable Tourism in Northern and Central Montenegro: Roadmap for Development of “Wild Beauty” (draft), UNDP 2004. - International Commission on the Balkans, The Balkans in Europe’s Future, Centre For Liberal Strategies, Sofia, April 2005. - Lauc B., Mandić A., Maričić J.P., Medić I., Pulfer N., Osijek Baranja County – Investment Guide, published by Osijek – Baranja County for Krešimir Bubalo, County Prefect, Osijek, 2005. - McCollum A. and Bourn D., Measuring Effectiveness in Development Education, Development Education Association, London, September 2001. - Medjedovic K., Tourism as Means of Re-launching Local and Regional Economies, Nikšić – Montenegro- Speech during the 5th Forum of Cities and Regions of

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South-East Europe and the 11th Economic Forum organised by CLRAE in Budva – Serbia and Montenegro, 11-12 October 2004. - Medjedovic K., Proposition de projet pour la Municipalité de Rozaje, presented by LDA Montenegro, 2004. - Poirier J.M., Boulaud D., Serbie, Monténégro, Kosovo, ensemble ou séparés vers l’Union Européenne ?, Les Rapports du Sénat – Commission des Affaires étrangères, Session ordinaire de 2003-2004, annexe au procès-verbal de la séance du 19 mai 2004. Edition : SENAT, Paris. - Task Force Report, Rattner S. Chairman and Froman Michael B.G. Project Director, Promoting sustainable economies in the Balkans, Report of an Independent Task Force Sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, United States of America, 2000. - Weaver J., How much did I change the world? Evaluating Development Education – a handbook, Password Publishing Services, Norwich, 1993.

ALDA INTERNAL DOCUMENTS

- Association of Local Democracy Agencies, Building democracy from below: the work of the Local Democracy Agencies and their Association, Strasbourg, May 2005. - Fischer D., press officer and project manager ALDA, Activity Report of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies for the year 2004, Strasbourg, 11 March 2005. - Fischer D., press officer and project manager ALDA with the support of the LDAs’ Delegates, Activity Report of the LDAs for the year 2004, Strasbourg 21 January 2005. - Statute of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies, signed in Strasbourg on 14 December 1999 and revised at the Extraordinary General Assembly on 5 December 2001, Strasbourg, 5 December 2001.

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- Valmorbida A., Director ALDA, and Testud J.L., Treasurer ALDA, Programme of activities or the Association of Local Democracy Agencies for 2005 and related Budget, Governing Board in Brussels - Belgium, 29 January 2005.

THE “FRENCH PROGRAMME” DOCUMENTS

- Ministère des Affaires étrangères, Direction Générale de la coopération et du développement – Mission pour la coopération non gouvernementale, Projet Pilote : Actions pour le développement local dans les Balkans, Paris, 12 février 2003. - Paris M., coordinateur de projet ALDA, Développement Economique Local dans les Balkans, Soutenu par le Ministère Français des Affaires étrangères, Matrices Stratégiques des Agences de la Démocratie Locale, Décembre 2004, Strasbourg le 9 février 2005. - Paris M., Rapport d’Activité du Projet Pilote : Actions pour le développement local dans les Balkans cofinancé par le Ministère des Affaires étrangères, Direction Générale de la coopération et du développement – Mission pour la coopération non gouvernementale, 18 décembre 2004 - 19 janvier 2005. Strasbourg. - Rapport d’activité intermédiaire, séminaire organisé a Zavidovici (Bosnie et Herzégovine) 19-21 avril 2004, Projet Pilote : Actions pour le développement local dans les Balkans cofinancé par le Ministère des Affaires étrangères, Direction Générale de la coopération et du développement – Mission pour la coopération non gouvernementale. Strasbourg. - Rapport d’activité intermédiaire, séminaire organisé a Rozaje (Serbie- Monténégro) 21-23 juin 2004, Projet Pilote : Actions pour le développement local dans les Balkans cofinancé par le Ministère des Affaires étrangères, Direction Générale de la coopération et du développement – Mission pour la coopération non gouvernementale.

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ARTICLES

- Berisha L., Bekteshi D, Antic S., Kosovo: quand la vie comune reste possibile, published in the press on 8 October 2004, on-line in the Courrier des Balkans website on 10 October 2004. - Bjelica J., Il caos dei media serbi, Osservatorio sui Balcani, published on-line on 25 August 2005. - Courrier des Balkans, interview realised by Madelain A., Transition économique au Kosovo: un processus bloqué, on-line on 23 May 2004. - Digest Z., Kosovo : comment protéger les forêts d’une exploitation abusive ? published in the press on 9 June 2005, on-line in the Courrier des Balkans website on 10 June 2005. - Hedl D., Aumenta la povertà in Croazia, Osservatorio sui Balcani, published on- line on 29 March 2005. - Ivanovic B., Kosovo: la decentralizzazione contesa, Osservatorio sui Balcani, published on-line on 1 March 2005. - Ivanovic B., Kosovo, tiro alla fune coi confini, Osservatorio sui Balcani, published on-line on 22 August 2005. - Ivanovic B., Kosovo: trottola continua?, Osservatorio sui Balcani, published on- lineon 6 April 2005. - Ivanovic B., Libertà di movimento, la grande chimera, Osservatorio sui Balcani, published on-line on 23 May 2005. - Ivanovic B., Mitrovica, il ponte che ancora divide, Osservatorio sui Balcani, published on-line on 20 June 2005. - Komnenic P., Informazione dipendente, Monitor, published in Italy by Internazionale, 17/23 June 2005, N° 595 Anno 12. - Leconte C., Il Kosovo senza soluzioni, Le Temps, published in Italy by Internazionale, 4/10 February 2005, N° 576 Anno 12.

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WEBSITES

- http://www.afelbak.org – Association Française d’Etudes sur les Balkans http://www.anci.it – Associazione Nazionale Comuni Italiani - http://www.answers.com - http://www.balkans.eu.org – Le Courrier des Balkans, le portail francophone des Balkans - http://www.coe.int/T/E/Clrae/ - Council of Europe website and section concerning the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, Support Programmes, Local Democracy Agencies - http://courrierinternational.com – Courrier International Revue - http://www.insar.de – Urban and regional planners & consultants - http://www.internazionale.it – Italian website of Internazionale Revue - http://www.iwpr.net – Institute for War and Peace Reporting - http://www.ldaaonline.org – The Association of Local Democracy Agencies website - http://www.limesonline.com – Italian Revue on International Politics - http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr – Le Monde diplomatique website - http://www.osservatoriobalcani.org - http://www.spfo.unibo.it/balkans/eurobalk.html - http://www.un.org – United Nations website - http://www.undp.org – United Nation Development Programme – Human Development Report 2004. - http://www.unimondo.org

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